Cliques and Colors
by cagallifangurl
Summary: Cagalli is a new student at Destiny High, this quirky school has rainbow dresscodes, a weird principle, hot pink fangirls, a jealous redhead and one hunkalicious Athrun Zala. Hmm how will Cagalli fit in?
1. Skirts and Jerks

Hello Readers! I've finally decided to write a fanfiction! Hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam SEED/DESTINY T-T

* * *

**Cliques and Colors**

**Chapter One: Skirts and Jerks**

It was a lovely Saturday morning; partly cloudy, slightly breezy, and just a tad chilly in the early November air.

In the bedroom of a nice petite apartment, a large lump can be seen on the full sized bed. Thick tresses of glossy golden hair sticking out at random angles were visible on the pillow. The owner's face seems to be hiding under the soft green blanket, desperately trying to avoid the sunlight that was pouring in from the bedroom window. The lump sighs in content as it successfully eluded the bright sun.

Suddenly-

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! The alarm clock on the bedside table screeched loudly, shattering the calm air. The lump let out a half-whine half-groan sound, obviously not pleased to be disrupted. A hand shot out from under the blanket and felt around for the offending gadget, it found its target and swiftly smacked the off button on the clock. "…"

The blanket gradually pulled down exposing an attractive, but irritated face. One lid slowly opened to reveal stunning amber, slightly squinting at the sudden intrusion of light before curiously taking a peek at the clock.

8:01 AM

The blonde sighed at the thought of having to wake up this early on a SATURDAY morning. For a moment, she mentally debated on sleeping some more or to actually get up and be on time for her appointment. Deciding on the latter, she got off the mattress and head towards her bathroom.

Cagalli Yula Athha had just moved to the PLANTS from her hometown, Orb. Wanting to escape her father's non-stop nagging about how she should behave like a lady more often, she traveled to the PLANTS for freedom and independence. Monday would be her first day at a PLANTS school, Destiny High. She did some research on it before enrolling and found that the school wasn't just your average high school. In fact, the school was almost for the rich and famous considering how a large portion of the students seem to come from wealthy homes. Google results seem to revolve around colors, cliques, mad fan girls, and an Athrun Zala? Cagalli was curious about all this hype and decided to enroll. But seeing as she was a new student, she was required to meet the Principal before starting her first day of school.

"Ugh, why do I have to meet him today? Can't it be tomorrow? Wah…my precious Saturday..." Cagalli miserably thought as she furiously brushed her teeth.

"Sigh, I should hurry before I'm late." Noting that she only has 20 minutes, she quickly threw on some appropriate clothing before walking out the door.

* * *

**Destiny High**

Cagalli stood in front of the door labeled 'Principal's Office'.

"Okay, this is weird, why the heck is the principal's door so decorated and colorful?" She sweat dropped as she examined the door fully adorned with pictures, collages, badges, and other accessories in all sorts of different colors.

"I'm almost scared to go inside."

She slowly raised her hand to knock on the door but before she could, it suddenly swung wide open revealing a tall blonde haired man in what looks to be his early thirties grinning down at her. She let out a small but noticeable "Eep!" from being caught off guard.

"You must be Cagalli Yula! Do you know that you are exactly one minute and forty-seven seconds late?" He narrowed his eyes at her petite form, looking almost creepy combined with the grin still on his face.

"Err...I'm s-sorry sir, I didn't mean to be late…I was j-just-" Before she could utter another word, the man started laughing hysterically, his face turning red as he bent over while clutching his stomach.

Cagalli raised an eyebrow at the man cackling in front of her, wondering if he was insane. Not for long, she grew impatient.

"JUST WHAT THE HECK IS SO DAMN FUNNY?" She shouted as her cheeks grew red with annoyance.

The man suddenly stopped laughing and stared at her, obviously surprised. "Sorry, it's just that you looked so funny when you're scared, you know that I was kidding about the late thing right?" He explained before letting out a few more chuckles, his blue eyes twinkling in amusement.

"NO! HOW WOULD I KNOW THAT? AND WHAT KIND OF PRINCIPAL JOKES AROUND LIKE THAT?" Cagalli fumed, her cheeks growing even redder from embarrassment.

"The ONE AND ONLY PRINCIPAL MU LA FLAGA, the coolest principal you'll ever have." He declared, flashing her a confident smile.

"Humph, we'll see about that. Anyway why am I here?" She raised her eyebrow in curiosity.

"Well young lady, you are here for a very special reason, come this way please." He explained as he led her into his office.

"Okay…By the way, why is there so much crap on your door?" Cagalli asked, her amber irises glowed with curiosity.

"Because I'm so very loved…Duh."

"Right..." For some reason, Cagalli didn't feel the need to be polite with this man.

"Okay here we are."

"Wow, your office looks so nice!" Cagalli exclaimed as she noticed the lush carpet, leather sofas, and is that a 50 inch flat screen TV?

"Why thank you, have a seat Cagalli." She nodded as she took a seat on one of the leather sofas facing his desk.

"Okay Ms. Cagalli, you are aware that this school requires its students to wear a dress code right?"

"Yes, but I don't know the exact details."

"Basically, every student has the choice of wearing a white or a black top, but only polo, dress shirt, or a blouse. For the bottoms, male students of course can only wear pants, and female students can only wear skirts." Cagalli's eyes twitched as she heard the word 'skirts', but kept quiet.

"The students can pick any color from this palette for the bottoms." Mwu showed her a chart full of different colors. Cagalli examined it, she raised an eyebrow and asked, "Are the colors suppose to mean something?"

"Excellent question Ms. Cagalli! You see, this is what makes this school unique. Your bottom color represents the group or clique that you are in. For example, our most popular clique is Navy blue because its members are among the most popular students. Although there are only a handful of actual Members in this clique, it has a massive number of Followers!"

"Okay wait, so how do you know who is a Member and who is a Follower?" Cagalli asked as she tries to absorb all the information.

"Simple, the Members all wear a unique accessory that can't be imitated."

"Do I HAVE to pick a clique?"

"Of course not, if you do not want to join a clique, you just simply wear black or white bottoms."

"Ohh...that seems a little boring." Cagalli mumbled.

"So does that mean that you'll join one?"

"No, but can I make one for myself?" She asked, eyes shining with excitement.

"Wow that's brave, but I've no objections. Here are some colors that have not been selected." Mwu show her a paper that listed the available colors. Cagalli quickly scanned the sheet for any greens, her favorite color. Although green and lime green was taken, there were two other greens left: emerald green and pukey green. She raised an eyebrow at Mwu.

"Why would you pick pukey as an available color? WHO would pick that?"

"I don't know! Somebody!" Honestly, Mwu didn't know why either.

"Okay I'll pick emerald, it's a nice green."

"Alrighty, now take this form and fill it out, after you're done, take it to the last door down this hall and give it to the lady. She will place an order for 10 emerald color skirts for you, don't worry it will arrive at about four in the afternoon so you can come back and pick it up then."

"How much are the skirts?"

"Well since it's your first time, they'll be ten dollars apiece okay? So a hundred dollars in total."

"A HUNDRED DOLLARS!" Cagalli bit her lips, she'll need to go look for a job soon, the money she saved up for the move will be used up by the next rent payment.

"I'm sorry but it's the lowest I can go!"

"Sigh, it's okay, I can pay for it." She quickly filled out the paper and waved goodbye to Mwu. "See you on Monday."

She reached the door down the hall and gave the lady her form. She saw the lady input a few things into the computer before making her sign a few things. Cagalli handed the money to the lady and was told to come back at 4:30 in the afternoon to pick up her skirts. She checked her phone.

10:40 AM

"Awesome! Five hours of free time, I'm sooo hungry!"

Cagalli stopped at a charming café called Cloud Nine , she quickly got a booth and was greeted by an auburn haired waitress.

"Hi welcome to Cloud Nine, my name is Miriallia and I will be your waitress this morning. May I start you off with something to drink?"

"Hello Miriallia! Um..a glass of water is fine, thank you!"

"Right away ma'am."

"Let's see, what do we have here?" Cagalli scanned the menu, everything looks pretty good to her. She decided what she wanted and checked her surroundings. She couldn't believe her luck when her eyes landed on the 'HELP WANTED' sign.

'YES! Just what I needed!' Mentally cheering, she saw Miriallia come back with her water and setting it down on the table before taking out a small notepad and a pen.

"Have you decided what you would like to order or will you be needing more time Ma'am?" She politely asked.

"Yes I've decided but first I need to know, you guys are hiring right now right?" Cagalli excitingly asked.

"Yes we are! We are kind of short on the waiting staff."

"That's perfect! Can I please apply here? I really need a job right now" She pleaded.

"Of course you can! Let me get your order and I'll call over my manager, she might just hire you on the spot!" Miriallia winked.

"Thank you! I'll have the turkey omelet please." Cagalli beamed, her amber orbs wide with hope.

"You're welcome, my manager will be with you in just a moment."

After a moment, a middle aged woman came over to Cagalli and asked her to fill out an application for her. Cagalli quickly filled it out and answered a few questions from the manager. The manager whose name was Lana said she'll be back with her in a few minutes. Cagalli nodded and ate her brunch. When she was about to pay her bill, Lana came out and told her she got the job. Cagalli got so excited she hugged the woman and thanked her a million times. Lana just laughed and told her that her first day will be Tuesday.

* * *

**Destiny High 4:30 PM**

"Here you go Ms. Cagalli, be sure to wear your emerald skirt tomorrow or else you'll be called to the principal's office understood?" The same lady from before explained as she gave Cagalli her ten skirts.

"Okay, thank you Ma'am."

After she left the room, she held up one of the skirts in distaste, shaking her head Cagalli started walking to the front exit but paused when she saw a boy with navy blue hair wearing a basketball jersey standing next to the door.

'Woah, I can't believe he has blue hair! That's so weird and cool!' She thought as she slowly walked towards the door. Just when she was about to pass him, she caught sight of something that made her stop in her tracks.

His eyes. They were the most beautiful eyes she's ever seen! They were Emerald.

She didn't know she had been openly staring at his eyes until..

"What are you doing?" He asked, his voice smooth with a hint of annoyance.

"Your eyes! THEY ARE SO COOL! They are like the exact shade of my skirts!" She couldn't help but blush a little when he raised his eyebrows at her.

"Hn." He turned and walked away.

Cagalli was too shocked to react as she watches his retreating back. 'Did he just...IGNORED me?'

She took a deep breath and yelled, "WHAT A JERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRK!"

* * *

Thank you for reading! Please review and let me know what you guys think okay? If you guys like the idea I'll write the second chapter. (: tatah!


	2. Second Impressions

**AN:** I would like to say thanks to my reviewer and thanks to the people who put me on alert and fav! It really motivated me to write this second chapter! :D

**Disclaimer: **Sadly I do not own Gundam SEED/DESTINY.

* * *

**Cliques and Colors**

* * *

**Chapter 2 : Second Impressions**

'_Today's the day_.' Cagalli thought as she looked at her reflection with determination. She ran her right hand through her soft slightly unruly hair that rested just above her shoulders. She examined her school semi-uniform which consists of a white V-neck short sleeved shirt and her emerald colored skirt. She frowned.

"Why does it have to be so short?" Grumbling, she tugged at the skirt that ended three inches above her knees.

It was Monday, Cagalli's first day at Destiny High. Currently 7:36 A.M. Approximately 44 minutes until her first class start. Grabbing her backpack and a toast she quickly left her small apartment.

**Destiny High – 15 minutes later**

Cagalli stood in front of the school looking around at all the students mingling around with their own groups. She could tell they were in different groups because of the different skirts and pants the students wore. Taking a deep breath, Cagalli quickly walked towards the entrance.

'_Gotta get my schedule, gotta get my schedule… where did he say to get it again? The registrar or the main office?_' Feeling the curious stares she was already getting, she hurriedly walked towards the registrar.

"Excuse me, is this where I get my schedule? I'm a new student."

The lady curiously looked at her for a second before replying. "Yes, may I ask for your name please?"

"Cagalli Yula."

"Alright, just a moment please." The lady typed a few things on her computer before walking towards the printer sitting at the corner.

"Here you go, welcome to Destiny High I hope you'll enjoy studying here." The lady smiled kindly.

"Thank you! Have a good day Ma'am."

**Under a pretty little apple tree**

"Yo Athrun!"

A guy with shoulder length navy blue hair looked up at the sound of his name. He was wearing a white dress shirt with the first couple of buttons undone showing his lean, slightly sun kissed neckline, a pair of navy blue pants, and a loose navy blue tie around his collar. His face consists of a prominent jaw and chin, a straight nose, symmetrical full lips, high cheekbones, and a pair of deep emerald green eyes. In short, this guy was drop-dead gorgeous.

His name is Athrun Zala, just turned 18, dubbed the hottest guy in school and the most popular. So popular that there is a large clique made up of self-declared Athrun Zala fangirls. Their signature hot pink skirts and cheap princess tiaras easily gave them away even from a far distance.

This was precisely the reason why Athrun Zala was hiding behind an apple tree…again.

"SHH! Don't say my name so loud Kira! Do you want me dead?"

The brown haired boy threw his head back and chuckled loudly. He was dressed almost the same as Athrun except his shirt was a polo shirt. "I can't believe you're still hiding from your fan girls after three years in this school Athrun! Man those girls just never learn to give up."

"I don't get why they can't just go for someone else!" Athrun frustratingly ruffled his hair, only to have it fall right back in place.

"I don't get why either, you're always so cold and rude towards them." Kira mused thoughtfully, cupping his chin with his left hand.

"Sigh, whatever I need to go to my locker. Cover for me while I make a run for it." Athrun looked around to make sure that there were no hot pink blotches lurking around. Relieved to find that the coast was clear, he waved at Kira before quickly making a dash for one of the side entrances into the school.

"I'll see you in class!"

Kira made his way to his first period, English 4. He was greeted by a pretty girl with long flowing pink hair and baby blue eyes. She was wearing a navy blue skirt and a white blouse completed with a bow around her collar.

"Hello Kira! Good morning."

"Good morning Lacus, though I can't say the same for our dear friend Athrun." Kira chuckled.

"Oh my, was he hiding from his fangirls again?" Lacus' baby blue eyes shined with a hint of worry but mostly with amusement.

"Bingo!" Kira winked and chuckled. Lacus blushed but her expression changed when she saw a pretty girl with shoulder length red hair and gray eyes walking their direction. She was dressed similarly to Lacus except her skirt was an inch shorter. She made a 'shh' gesture with her finger as she slowly crept up behind Kira and swiftly covered his lavender eyes with her hands. Lacus' face was somewhat troubled, but Kira grinned because he already knows who the owner of the hands was.

"Flay."

"Aw how did you know it was me?" Flay pouted.

"Because you do this so many times I think the feel of your hands are permanently burned into my memory." Kira smiled teasingly as he took her hands in his.

"I can't help it though!" Flay giggled. She noticed that Lacus looked somewhat uncomfortable. "What's wrong Lacus?"

"W-what? Oh, um, nothing Flay, I guess I'm just tired from studying last night." Of course in Lacus' heart, she knows the real reason, she was secretly in love with Kira Yamato. Sadly Kira was taken, and he was quite oblivious to her feelings. Even though Flay is Kira's girlfriend, Lacus can't hate her. Flay has always been nice and friendly to her, plus she doesn't know that Lacus was in love with Kira.

"You shouldn't overwork yourself Lacus, health always comes first." Kira said with a hint of worry.

"I know, I'll try not to Kira." Lacus couldn't help but smile at his kind personality.

* * *

Meanwhile with Cagalli

Cagalli slowly examined her schedule as she walked down the hallway. '_Hmm…I have English 4 first and then…_'

Suddenly, Cagalli felt like she just slammed straight into a wall before falling to the floor from the impact.

"Ouch!" Holding her head she opened her eyes and looked at the offender. Before she could utter a word –

"What the HECK? Watch where you're going!"

Cagalli's amber eyes widened at the familiar face, well specifically hair and eyes. '_It's that JERK AGAIN! How dare he yell at me!_'

"WHY DON'T **YOU** WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GOING!" Cagalli yelled back, her cheeks slightly red from anger.

Some girls who were still in the hallway let out small gasps as they watched the girl yell at their precious PRINCE. Immediately they started whispering among themselves asking questions like 'who the heck is this blonde?'

Cagalli's eye twitched when she heard a few phrases but nonetheless continued to glare back at Athrun defiantly.

Athrun on the other hand was completely caught off guard as his dark eyebrows flew up when he realized that a girl was actually yelling back at him. '_I've never been yelled at by a girl before! Who is this girl? She looks kind of familiar…_'

"What? You're the one who bumped into me!" Athrun's emerald orb glared into Cagalli's amber ones. '_She has nice eyes…WOAH WTF?_'

"WELL IF YOU WERE ACTUALLY LOOKING YOU WOULD HAVE SAW ME AND MOVED OUT OF MY WAY!"

Athrun faltered just a little, taken by surprise at the interesting girl fuming in front of him. He checked one of the clocks in the hallway and saw that he only had 2 minutes before the bell rings.

"SHIT I'm gonna be late! Let's just forget this ever happened okay?" And he was gone.

"UGH stupid pig! WHAT ARE YOU BIMBOS LOOKING AT? GO BUFF YOUR NAILS OR SOMETHING!" Cagalli barked as she glared at all the girls whispering about her.

Before you can say 'Fangirls', they were gone.

***Bell Rings***

'_Oh great, now I'm late and I don't even know where my class is!_'Cagalli chewed on her lips as she started looking for her classroom.

**4 minutes later**

"AHAH! ROOM 3210!"

Cagalli took a deep breath and knocked on the door. The door opened a few seconds later to reveal a brunette lady.

"Yes can I help you?"

"I'm a new student."

"OH! So you're the one that Mu was talking about. Please come in! CLASS WE HAVE A NEW STUDENT!"

Now all of the student's attention was on her. The guys in the classroom seemed to pay much more attention at the new comer. Cagalli scanned the classroom and her eyes widened as they landed on an indigo haired male. She bit back the urge to scream and also caught his shocked expression at seeing her.

"Okay Ms. Yula right? Please introduce yourself to the class."

"My name is Cagalli Yula, I've just moved here from Orb, please to meet you all." She mentally rolled her eyes as she spoke the last word in her introduction.

"Okay let's see where you'll be sitting at." Murrue scanned the classroom for empty seats and her brown eyes lit up as they landed on one. It was the seat next to Athrun. Cagalli also sees this and prayed hard in hopes of seating anywhere but there.

"Please take that seat in the third row right next to Mr. Zala please, Mr. Zala would you kindly raise your hand?" Cagalli mentally cursed when she saw the blue haired pig who looked shocked and somewhat displeased but obligingly raised his hand. But before it got the chance to go all the way up several girls shot up from their seats and one yelled "MISS MURRUE THAT GIRL CANNOT SIT NEXT TO ATHRUN!"

Cagalli was relieved but raised one of her eyebrows when she noticed the hot pink skirts and tiaras the girls wore. The girl who yelled seemed to be the leader of the group because her tiara had a big pink gem on it.

"And why is that Miss Campbell?"

"Because everyone had to take THE TEST to sit next to him so SHE has to too!" Meer Campbell, leader of the Athrun Zala Fanclub Clique sneered.

"But there is only one seat left, where will she sit if she were to fail the test?"

"I WILL REPLACE HER." Meer declared proudly.

Athrun who was smirking seconds ago turned pale. No one has ever passed the test before! He prayed hard that the blonde pass because he'd rather DIE than to sit next to MEER CAMBPELL.

"Very well Miss Campbell." Murrue turned to Cagalli. "Miss Yula, you'll have to answer a couple of questions for us."

Cagalli nodded, hoping to fail the test.

"What do you think of Athrun Zala?"

Her eye twitched, '_THIS WAS THE TEST? WHAT THE HECK?_' Taking a deep deep breath, she answered honestly.

"I think that if you were to stuff him in a dress and put some makeup on him, he could win first place for Miss Japan."

Everyone's jaws dropped. Kira who was sitting behind Athrun regained from shock and suddenly started roaring with laughter, soon the whole class was laughing except Athrun, his fan girls, and Cagalli who just smirked at Athrun and his fan girls' priceless expressions. Even Murrue was trying to stifle her giggles.

"My, that was a unique answer, okay one more question." Murrue said after everybody calmed down somewhat. "Would you like to sit next to Athrun Zala?"

Cagalli sweat dropped. '_What kind of questions are these? What is this guy a princess or something_?'

"No way! He seems like an egoistic pig and jerk!"

She raised an eyebrow as the whole class let out a gasp. Athrun on the other hand let out a chuckle, he didn't feel offended at all for some reason. '_This girl is interesting_.'

"CONGRADULATIONS MISS YULA, YOU PASSED THE TEST! You may sit next to Mr. Zala."

Meer's jaws dropped along with the other fangirls. She couldn't believe that a girl ACTUALLY PASSED THE TEST!

"WHAT? B-BUT SHE SAID THAT SHE DIDN'T WANT TO SIT NEXT TO HIM!" Meer glared at Murrue and Cagalli angrily.

"That's not relevant Miss Campbell, it only matters that she passed the test so please sit back down or you can leave the class." Meer gritted her teeth and turned red with anger and humiliation when she heard some sniggers around her but kept quiet and sat down.

"Now Miss Yula, please take your seat." Murrue ordered.

Cagalli let out a sigh and made her way towards the third row. She avoided Athrun's gaze and took the seat to his right.

"Okay students please take the textbooks out from your desks. We will be discussing…"

Athrun glanced at the blonde to his right, she was concentrating on what the teacher was saying while taking notes. '_Hmm…she looks so cute and WHAT AM I THINKING?_' shaking his head, he tried to focus on the discussion. He noticed that her pen rolled off the table and bends down to pick it up, unaware that Cagalli was doing the same. Their hands accidently touched sending electric shocks up their arms.

"Ow you shocked me!" Cagalli hissed.

"W-what? It's not like I meant to shock you!" Athrun whispered back, quite taken back by her statement.

"Well why did you pick up my pen? I can do it myself!"

"I was just trying to be nice!"

"Hmph!"

"You're welcome." Athrun teased.

"…"

"What was that?"

"I said THANK YOU!" Cagalli turned her head but Athrun can see the slight blush on her cheeks. The corners of his mouth curved up at the sight.

"So…you think I'm pretty huh?"

Cagalli raised her eyebrows at him. "I guess, what of it?"

Athrun gave her an innocent look. "Hn...nothing, just curious."

"Why are you even talking to me? I thought you didn't like me." Cagalli narrowed her eyes at him.

"I never said I didn't like you." He looked at the blonde in confusion.

"Well you made it pretty obvious when you IGNORED me when I was just being nice and complimenting you!"

"That was you? Wow I swear I thought you were one of those fangirls, uh sorry I was tired from basketball practice."

Cagalli gave a small laugh. "You thought I was your fangirl? Haha like that'll ever happen."

"Good, I don't need any more than I already have." Athrun smirked. '_She sure is different._'

"You know what? We should start over. My name is Cagalli, nice to meet you!" She extended her right hand at him encouragingly.

He smiled in amusement and also extended his right hand and took her hand in his. "My name is Athrun, and it's very nice to meet you too."

Kira and Lacus who sat behind them glanced curiously at them. They were kind of surprised that Athrun was actually talking to a girl he just met. The only girls he normally talked to were his childhood friends.

'_Seems like Athrun's interested in the new girl…_' Kira smirked. '_About time Athrun._'

"So what class do you have next?" Athrun curiously asked.

Cagalli took out her schedule and showed him.

"Hey you have 2 more classes with me today." Athrun smirked.

"Really? What a relief, now I won't have to get lost again." Cagalli smiled excitingly.

"Is that an invitation for me to be your tour guide?" Athrun wiggled his eyebrows suggestively. '_I can't believe I'm acting like this! AM I ACTUALLY FLIRTING?_'

"No Zala it's an order!" Cagalli pouted at him.

'_Damn I think I'm blushing. I never blush!_' Athrun thought as he gazed at her expression.

"Haha, yes Ma'am." He mock saluted.

"Athrun are you going to introduce us to your new friend here?" Kira suddenly butted in with Lacus. Cagalli curiously looked at the two before turning her attention back to Athrun.

"Err...Cagalli this is Kira and Lacus, Kira and Lacus this is Cagalli." Athrun said, feeling a LITTLE irritated.

"Hi nice to meet you guys." Cagalli waved her hand at the two.

"Nice to meet you too Miss Cagalli." Lacus smiled politely and Kira shook the blonde's hand.

***Bell Rings***

"Okay we'll see you at lunch, Cagalli you should join us." Kira suggested as they walked towards their next class.

"Sure!" She nodded her head in agreement.

"Great! See you later Athrun and Cagalli!" Kira and Lacus waved and left.

"So Mister Tour Guide, where is our next class?" Cagalli asked with a hint of sarcasm.

"Follow me, milady." Athrun mock bowed.

"ATHRUN!" A girly voice called.

Cagalli and Athrun turned to see a girl with red hair pulled up into pig tails jogging towards them. When the girl got to them, she practically threw herself at Athrun and squeezed him in a tight hug. Cagalli raised an eyebrow at her while Athrun let out a small chuckle and loosely hugged the girl back. '_Must be his girlfriend._' Cagalli thought. For some reason it irked her to see them hugging like this.

"You know if you keep doing this, my back will break someday because of you." Athrun told her when she let go of him.

"Sorry Athrun, I didn't see you all weekend and I just missed you is all…umm who's this?" The girl looked at Cagalli weirdly.

"This is Cagalli, she's a new student. Cagalli this is my friend Meyrin." Cagalli felt a sense of relief wash over her when she heard 'friend' yet at the same time she felt confused as to why she felt that way.

"Oh…Hello." Meyrin stared at the girl with distaste but Athrun and Cagalli didn't seem to notice. '_Why is he walking with this new girl? He NEVER walks with any girl except ME…err I mean his close friends._'

"Nice to meet you Meyrin." Cagalli waved but Meyrin already turned her attention to Athrun. '_What's with this girl?_' Cagalli felt irritated by her attitude.

"Athrun c'mon let's walk to class together." Meyrin said, pulling his hand.

"Alright but first," He turned to Cagalli and teasingly said "come Milady."

"Yes Mister Tour Guide." Cagalli laughed and rolled her eyes.

'_How dare she flirt with my Athrun? UGH!_' Meyrin angrily glared at the back of the blonde's head.

'_I won't let her take him from me._'

To Be Continued...

* * *

Thank you for reading! Please let me know what you think! ^-^


	3. Lunch and Pink Desperation

AN: Hello my dear readers! I'm so happy that I've received EIGHT reviews for chapter 2! Hehe I guess I'm doing pretty good at this eh? :D THANK YOU TO: LoveGundam, akatsuki-justice, Tyler, xoxdork, nina, star, Million Voices, and Cagalli Haruka Zala for your wonderful reviews! ^-^

Here's another for you guys! Oh btw, if you are a big fan of Meyrin, you probably won't like this story. D: Sorry. DON'T FORGET TO R&R!

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN GUNDAM SEED/DESTINY. BOOHOO.

* * *

Cliques and Colors

**Chapter 3: Lunch and Pink Desperation**

* * *

Just a few minutes after her second period started, pre-calculus, Cagalli found herself sitting at the last available desk which just so happens to be right next to Meyrin Hawk. She heaved a sigh and cursed her luck. To make matters worse, the teacher or Mr. Andrew Waltfeld had decided that today was a good day to just give the students two pages full of math problems to complete and turn in by the end of the class or, if the students are unable to finish, they have to complete it for homework and turn it in the next day. Being a new student obviously does not matter.

Cagalli has been staring at the worksheets on her desk for a good 7 minutes now and she hasn't even move her pen yet. In truth, Cagalli HATES math, and by hate, she also means she's horrible at it. '_There is no way that I'll be able to finish this by tonight_.' She thought miserably.

She stole a glance at Athrun who sat on the other side of Meyrin and saw that he was trying to concentrate on his worksheet but Ms. Cherryhead kept insisting on talking to him and asking him questions. She herself was also trying to figure out at least question one but who can focus with this irritating loud mouth sitting right next to them?

The teacher didn't seem to care much and was more absorbed with his computer screen, one hand lazily browsing while the other held a mug of steaming coffee.

'_This guy doesn't even look like a teacher.'_ Cagalli scoffed, taking in his rugged brown hair, tanned skin, and not to mention his five 'o clock shadow.

"Athrun! We should really go see the new movie 'Inception' tonight! I heard it was really good!" Meyrin's high pitched outburst suddenly broke her train of thoughts.

Cagalli rolled her eyes at the annoying voice and saw Meyrin shoot her a smug smile, obviously trying too hard to get under her skin for no apparent reason.

"Uh…Sure, I'll ask the group during lunch." Athrun replied after a moment of consideration.

"The group?" Cagalli saw the smug smile shatter on Meyrin's face and was replaced by confusion and surprise, 'Kodak moment.' She smirked.

"Yeah, our friends? They're coming too right?" Athrun cocked an eyebrow at her.

"Oh-umm…o-of course! I was just kidding!" Meyrin's ears burned with embarrassment.

Cagalli couldn't help but snicker at her lame cover up.

Athrun noticed this and tilted his head. "Cagalli you should come too, it'll be fun."

"Huh? Uh…" Cagalli was about to politely decline but caught the look on Meyrin's face and decided that it WOULD be fun to make a certain someone burn with rage. "Sure! I would _love_ to go!" It was her turn to look smug.

"YEAH IT'S GOING TO BE SO _FUN_." Meyrin exclaimed with a phony smile, her insides seething with contempt.

"Great! We'll talk about the details during lunch." Athrun smiled boyishly before getting back to work.

"Oh Athrun, do you think you can explain some of these equations to me? I'm kind of lost here." Cagalli asked with wide puppy dog eyes.

"O-of course, no problem." Athrun stammered, feeling his cheeks getting hot. "You mind switching seats Mey?"

Meyrin eyes twitched, _'HELL FREAKING NO. NO WAY NO WAY NO WAY! I WILL NEVER LET THIS STUPID GIRL SIT NEXT TO YOU!'_

…Sure."

30 minutes later...

"I can't believe I actually finished the worksheets! THANK YOU SO MUCH ATHRUN!" Cagalli hugged Athrun with excitement.

"Y-you're welcome..." Athrun felt as if his cheeks were about to explode. He wanted to hug her back but was disappointed that Cagalli had already let go.

"C'mon Athrun it's lunch time! Let's go!" Meyrin cut in, she was obviously unhappy about their hug.

"Alright, you coming Cagalli?" Athrun asked.

"Of course!"

Meyrin's left eye twitched.

**LUNCH**

"Are you saying that I have 1 HOUR for lunch?" Cagalli stared at Athrun with stars in her eyes as she walked with Athrun and Meyrin to the Cafeteria to meet up with the rest of the Navy Blue clique members.

Chuckling, Athrun replied. "Yes, ONE HOUR. It's actually normal lunch time in the PLANTS."

"Wow, you're so excited over nothing." Meyrin rolled her eyes.

Cagalli just pretended that she didn't hear. She looked ahead and saw quite a few people standing at the entrance of the Cafeteria, all wearing navy blue pants or skirts and ties or bows.

"Hey guys," Athrun began as they reached the group, "this is Cagalli, she's a new student."

A chorus of hi's, hellos, yo's, and nice to meet you's were exchanged as the group greeted the newcomer.

"Cagalli, you already know Kira and Lacus from English. Athrun then gestured to a girl next to Kira with red hair, "This is Fllay, Kira's girlfriend." The girl waved at Cagalli with a friendly smile.

"I'm Dearka! Nice to meet you gorgeous." A guy with tan skin and sleek blonde hair introduced and gave her a wink.

Cagalli raised an eyebrow at him. "Uh…okay? Nice to meet you too…I guess." She looked at him weirdly while he merely shrugged.

Athrun rolled his eyes at his womanizing friend, he felt a little irritated for some reason. Clearing his throat, he continued. "Thanks Dearka…Anyway this is Yzak, and that's Shiho," he pointed to a guy with super straight neck length platinum blonde/silver hair and a girl with long brown hair.

Cagalli's mouth twitched when her eyes landed on Yzak. _'What's with this guy's hair? It's so straight and shiny!'_

"What's so funny?" Yzak asked angrily when he saw her stifling a giggle.

"Oh nothing at all…" Cagalli replied innocently while averting her eyes.

Yzak growled and was about to say something else when Shiho interrupted. "You don't have to hide it Cagalli, everyone's made fun of his hair at least once." The group couldn't help but laugh at how true it was.

"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY WOMAN?" Yzak glared at Shiho.

"Stuff it Joule, denying it won't make you feel better." Shiho waved off his angry outburst as if it was nothing.

"WHY I OUGHT TO…"

"AHEM, I'M GETTING HUNGRY HERE SO CAN WE JUST FINISH WITH THE INTRODUCTIONS ALREADY?" A guy with messy black hair and crimson eyes shouted loudly obviously annoyed.

"HMPH!" Yzak and Shiho let out simultaneously before turning their heads to opposite directions.

Athrun sighed. "Okay, the loud kid is Shinn, his girlfriend Stella," he gestured to a cute blonde girl next to Shinn, "and that's Lunamaria, who is Meyrin's older sister." He pointed at a girl with short red hair.

Shinn gave a grunt, Lunamaria gave a friendly smile, and Stella waved excitingly at Cagalli.

"Nice to meet you guys." She beamed.

After meeting everyone, Cagalli can see why the group was so popular, everyone was good looking and cute!

"Hey where's Miriallia?" Dearka suddenly asked, looking around for the missing person.

"HEY GUYS! I'M SORRY I'M LATE!"

Cagalli turned around to see a very familiar girl with auburn hair running towards her direction, her eyes widening in recognition.

"There was a problem with one of the pictures and- CAGALLI YOU GO TO SCHOOL HERE?" Miriallia suddenly yelled out when she saw Cagalli.

"Ehehe, yeah I'm a new student. Hello!" Cagalli smiled and waved at her.

"You know her Milly?" Dearka voiced out everyone's thoughts.

"Yeah! She's the new waitress at Cloud Nine!" Miriallia explained.

"Cool! That's our hang out spot, in fact we always go there for our lunch period!" Stella pointed out excitingly.

"I guess I won't have to be Mr. Tour Guide for lunch period huh?" Athrun smirked teasingly at Cagalli.

"You don't like being my tour guide Athrun?" Cagalli pouted sadly.

"N-No! I was just teasing you!" Athrun coughed, trying to hide a slight blush.

"Haha, so was I." Cagalli winked.

Athrun spluttered, obviously a little embarrassed. "Let's just go already!" Athrun muttered, walking to the school exit.

"Okay! I'm hungryyyyy!" She half-whined as she followed him.

The group watched them with surprise and amusement.

"I think Athrun finally likes a girl." Dearka let out after a moment.

"About time that Zala. Everyone was starting to think he's gay." Shinn scoffed, watching as the two walked out of the school and making the majority of the students do double takes.

"I'm so happy for him! C'mon guys let's go catch up to them!" Flay clapped her hands and started skipping towards the school exit with Stella as everyone followed suit, minus the skipping.

But no one noticed how Meyrin boiled with fury except Luna. She was about to ask her about it but stopped when she saw Meyrin calmed down. She made a mental note to ask her about it later, even thought she already has a suspicion about the reason behind her sister's uncharacteristic behavior.

**CLOUD NINE CAFÉ**

The café was about five minutes walking distance from the school, once inside you can smell the wonderful aroma of freshly brewed coffee, delicious baked pastries, and smoky bacon. It's a weird combination but strangely satisfying for the nose and very alluring for a bunch of hungry teenagers. The quaint but modern decorations and large booths create a very comforting atmosphere. There was a lounging corner to the far right set up with six bean bag chairs, 2 large sofas, a coffee table stacked with magazines, and a 42 inch flat screen TV on the wall for entertainment. The lounge area is free for dine-in customers but charges a two dollar fee otherwise.

When the crew entered the café, they were greeted by a petite waitress who led them to a large booth in the corner before handing them their menus. The booth was big enough to fit 13 teenagers very comfortably. The seating order from left to right: Yzak, Shiho, Shinn, Stella, Lacus, Kira, Fllay, Cagalli, Athrun, Meyrin, Luna, Miriallia, and Dearka.

"Man Athrun you always get to sit in the middle of the booth!" Dearka whined, unhappy to be the one on the end of the booth.

"Walk faster next time buddy." Athrun smirked.

"I can't walk fast on an empty stomach." Dearka rubbed his tummy and sighed dramatically.

"Not my problem." Athrun grinned.

"Hello my dears, how are you doing today?" A kind voice came, it was Lana. "Here for your usual again?" She asked with a caring smile on her aging face.

"Hi Aunty Lana, we're doing great! And yes Ma'am, but we have a newbie today." Kira replied with a smile.

"Oh Cagalli honey! How are you doing settling in PLANTS so far?"

"Great! I've met a bunch of interesting people…" Cagalli winked at Lana.

"You sure are right sweetheart!" She laughed.

Would you like anything to drink? I already know what these guys are going to order."

"Oh okay I'll get water with lemon."

"No problem, okay I'll be back with your drinks in a moment." She kindly smiled before heading to the front.

"So when's your first day working here Cagalli?" Athrun asked curiously.

"TOMORROW!" She exclaimed excitingly.

"Good luck Cagalli!" Lacus smiled.

"She'll be fine, she has me!" Miriallia declared.

"Thank you Lacus, and I'll be counting on you Milly!" Cagalli winked.

"You're going to love working here; we hardly get any rude customers and the tips are really good!" Miriallia grinned.

"Thank God because I can't deal with rude customers! I don't think I have the patience." Cagalli smiled sheepishly.

Everyone chuckled and moved their elbows off the table when they see three waitresses coming their way each carrying a tray of drinks. They carefully placed each glass on the table and a chorus of thank you's were said around the table. Two waitresses left with the trays as the one remaining took out a notepad and pen from her waitress apron.

"Are you ladies and gentlemen, and Milly, ready to order?" The waitress smiled teasingly at Miriallia, the name tag on her shirt read "Reana".

Miriallia stuck her tongue out. "Nyehh."

"Yes we'll have the usual, with three orders of the fried calamari appetizers," Athrun smiled charmingly at the waitress, who turned scarlet. "Cagalli have you decided what you want to order yet?" He turned to his right.

"Umm…what do you recommend?" She peered at Athrun with curiosity.

"Hmm I usually get the baked turkey sandwich with some salad and fries." Athrun said thoughtfully.

"Okay sounds good, haha another one of that please!" Cagalli told the waitress.

"Yes Ma'am, I'll be back with your appetizer shortly." She collected everyone's menus and left with a smile as the group started chatting again.

"So you are all in Navy Clique?" Cagalli looked at everyone curiously.

"Yep, we have all the Members here." Athrun replied.

Cagalli then let out a grin. "I heard Navy is the most popular clique in school."

"No not really…"

"Oh don't lie! The principal told me!"

"Don't believe that old fart, he's crazy!"

"Right…"

"So Cagalli, did you create Emerald clique or joined, I don't think I've seen the color before." Kira inquired.

"I made it." Cagalli said with a wink.

"So why emerald?" Athrun was curious.

"Because I like green and the only greenish color they have left was emerald and pukey green." Cagalli made a face when she said the word 'pukey'.

"Wise choice." Dearka commented.

"Athrun, your eyes match perfectly with Cagalli's skirt." Kira teased.

Everyone was surprised to see a slight tinge of pink on Athrun's cheeks. Athrun hardly ever blushed and it shocked everyone that a small tease had invoked such a response. Fortunately for Cagalli, everyone was too busy staring at Athrun to notice that her cheeks had turned pink also.

Athrun coughed and cleared his throat, sipping on his sprite before muttering. "What are you getting at Kira?"

Kira feigned innocent. "Oh nothing, nothing at all buddy of mine." The girls let out giggles while the guys smirked, except Athrun, Cagalli, and of course Meyrin.

"Athrun, aren't you going to ask the guys about the movie?" Meyrin asked loudly and held on to his arm.

"Oh yea, hey guys you want to go see Inception tonight? Meyrin heard it was really good."

"Sure I think all of us are free." Shiho said.

"Alright let's all meet there after school alright?" Athrun suggested.

Everyone agreed to the idea and began chowing down on the appetizers that have just arrived. Athrun saw that Meyrin still has her hand around his arm and felt uncomfortable so he tried to ease it off. Meyrin notices this and unwillingly let go. Their orders arrived shortly after that and Cagalli was happy to find that what she ordered was really good. She thanked Athrun as she munched on her sandwich, making Athrun stutter at how cute she looked with her cheeks filled with bread and turkey. Their happy luncheon didn't last long when an unwanted person suddenly appeared. It was Meer Campbell, along with her posies, all wearing pink skirts and tiaras.

"OH ATHRUNN! You should sit with us!" Meer batted her eyelashes.

"Hn…no thanks." Athrun who looked annoyed, replied with a bored tone.

"Oh pleeease?" Meer and her posies pleaded, "Why would you sit with these losers?" Meer sneered, looking at the girls in the booth with distaste.

The group, specifically Yzak and Shiho glared at Meer while Cagalli just stared at the newcomers in bewilderment.

"They are not losers now go away dingbat." Athrun frowned.

"Athrun baby, you know you want to sit with us." Meer leaned forward and said with half lidded eyes. "Don't play hard to get."

Athrun cocked an eyebrow at her as the group chortled with laughter and coughs.

"Do you not understand English? He said go away." Cagalli suddenly spoke up with an annoyed voice.

Meer and her posies looked at Cagalli in shock while the group stared in awe.

"SHUT UP NEW GIRL! I wasn't talking to you." Meer screeched.

"I don't really care, just go away cuz you're annoying all of us." Cagalli rolled her eyes.

"I said shut up! Athrun wants me here." Meer looked at him dreamingly.

"No, I don't. Leave me alone." Athrun muttered in a cold voice.

"I DON'T BELIEVE YOU! I WON'T GIVE UP ON YOU NO MATTER WHAT ATHRUN!" Meer shouted. "Oh and blondie, you better watch your back." Meer glared at Cagalli before walking out of the café.

"Ugh I swear that girl is the most annoying girl on the planet." Athrun sighed.

"Yeah, I can't believe she's your cousin Lacus." Kira said, shaking his head.

"She's your cousin? Wow how can she be related to you? You're so nice but she's so bitchy, but then again I guess that would explain the pink hair." Cagalli exclaimed.

"Yep." Lacus giggled.

"Okay guys I think it's time to go, we have about 10 minutes before lunch ends." Shinn checked his watch and everyone stood up except Cagalli.

"Wait, we didn't get our check yet!" Cagalli panicked as she started reaching for her wallet.

Everyone turned and chuckled. "Already paid Cagalli." Athrun grinned at her confused expression.

"WHAT? HOW? WHEN? WHO?" Cagalli shouted.

Athrun just put his forefinger to his lips and winked. "Don't worry about it."

"You paid? What! you can't do that Athrun!" Cagalli pouted.

"Think of it as payment for helping us get rid of Meer." Athrun smiled gratefully at her.

Cagalli blushed. "N-no problem, but I'm still paying you back Athrun!"

Athrun only chuckled. "C'mon let's go, we don't want to be late."

"HEY WAIT A MINUTE! DON'T CHANGE THE SUBJECT ATHRUN!" Cagalli shouted, chasing after Athrun who was already running towards the school.

* * *

^_^ You like? Please review if you do! :D

For some reason, I think my writing is kind of awkward, do you guys think so too? Please let me know D:

AND BTW: I drew a picture of Cagalli and Athrun in their uniforms for this story! If you're interested please check it out! ^.^ Link is on my profile.

I'm not very good but I hope you like it :D


	4. Movies and Texts

**AN**: Hi everyone! I'm sorry for the late update! T0T College and work has been killing me! I'm just about failing Government and I have write essays after essays in CompI! GEEZ I NEED A BREAK! Anyway thank you to those who reviewed! I LOVE YOU! Enjoy! R&R&R!

maharlika96: Thank you for reviewing! I'm glad u like my story! (:

ferishia: Haha i see ur a Meyrin fan xD

AsuCaga4ever: Sorry for winking overkill D: but thanks for the review!

mrs. zala: Clique pretty much means a social circle, so it's sorta kinda like a gang minus the u kno...gangstas haha.

nina: I'm glad you like my fan art! Yes, I used Paint Tool Sai

aly: Thanks for R&R! ^-^

akatsuki-justice: thank you! :D Still trying to develop the plot but i think i'm getting somethin...xD

Dhevz: Thx for R&R! ^-^

Star: Thank you (:

Cagalli Haruka Zala: Thank you for reviewing! :D

**DISCLAIMER**: I do not own GS/GSD!

* * *

**Cliques and Colors**

**Chapter 4: Movies and Texts**

* * *

When Cagalli entered her third period class, she was surprised to find that Meyrin was also in the same class. She admits that there is something about the girl that irks her but seeing that Meyrin was a close friend of Athrun, she thought she should just try and be nice.

Making up her mind, Cagalli made her way towards Meyrin's desk.

"Hi Meyrin!" She smiled a genuine smile.

Meyrin looked up at the sound of her name and found the last person she wanted to see. Deciding that it's best to just ignore her, she went back to reading her book.

Cagalli bit her lips at the rudeness but without another word, she went back to her desk.

'If she wants to ignore me then fine, but at least I tried to be nice.'

They ignored each other for the rest of the period.

* * *

As the bell rang signaling the end of third period, Cagalli quickly gathered her things and walked out of the classroom. She took out her schedule and was happy to find that PE was her last period of the day. She noticed Meyrin power-walk passed her and sighed.

'Probably looking for Athrun,' she concluded and rolled her eyes, 'guess I'll have to find the Gym by myself.'

Surprisingly it only took her 4 minutes to find the Gym, of course the big sign on the wall helped.

Pushing open the big double doors, she was impressed by how big the gym was; it was a bit smaller than a football field, with long rows of bleachers on each side.

She noticed that there were hardly any students in sight, only a couple sitting on the bleachers. Quickly spotting the coach, she jogged up to her and handed her the schedule. The coach looked pretty strict; her hair was black and very short and she had purple eyes.

"Cagalli Yula…I'm Coach Badgiruel, welcome to PE. Since it's your first day and you don't have a gym uniform, you'll have to sit out on the activity today. What sizes do you wear for shirts and shorts?"

"Okay, um medium?"

Coach Badgiruel raised an eyebrow before giving Cagalli a onceover. "I think a small would fit you better, okay I will put in an order today for your uniform and it should arrive on Wednesday. Now go have a seat on the bleachers."

Cagalli nodded and jogged towards the bleachers, she spotted Stella sitting on the bottom row and went to join her. Stella waved excitingly as Cagalli took a seat next to her.

"Hi Cagalli! You have PE this period too?" Stella asked bubbly.

"Mhm," Cagalli couldn't help but smile at the cheerful girl, "why are you on the bleachers Stella?"

"Oh I forgot to bring my uniform today! I can't participate in today's activity if I don't have my uniform." Stella explained, looking almost sad for a second before smiling brightly again. "But it's okay! I like watching my friends play! Look there they are! C'mon let's wave!"

Cagalli was surprised to see Athrun, Kira, Dearka, Yzak, and Shinn coming out from a blue door in one corner and Miriallia, Lacus, Shiho, Fllay, Luna, and Meyrin coming out from a red door on the opposite corner. It seems like everyone had the same Gym class. The guys wore loose white T-shirts with the school name printed across the chest and black knee length mesh shorts. The girls wore a similar but more form fitting white shirt with black thigh length mesh shorts.

The group waved back and made their way towards the bleachers where Stella and Cagalli sat. Cagalli did not miss the look of dismay that flashed across Meyrin's face.

"I see you've made it here on time without my help Cagalli." Athrun teased with a grin.

"Of course! Only an idiot would miss the huge Gym sign." Cagalli crossed her arms and stuck her tongue out.

Athrun merely chuckled. The group chatted for a few more minutes before the sound of a whistle was heard.

"ALL STUDENTS IN UNIFORM GATHER OVER HERE." Coach Badgiruel boomed, gesturing to the area on her right.

The students quickly stopped their mingling and ran to the respective spot. The class was quite large; there were probably over 50 students in it.

Coach Badgiruel was about to start her instructions when a guy with lavender hair shot his hand up.

"You have a problem Mr. Seiran?"

"Coach Badgiruel, who's the babe?" He pointed his finger at Cagalli.

Coach Badgiruel, Cagalli, and Athrun simultaneously had a case of the eye twitch.

"Don't use the word babe in my class Mr. Seiran, that's Cagalli Yula, she's a new student."

"Hm…interesting." Yuuna murmured as he stared at Cagalli, unaware that at the moment her fists are clenched tightly and she's resisting the urge to bash his head on the cold gym floor.

"Now if we don't have any more questions, everyone gather into teams of 6 for a miniature basketball tournament. Most of the guys cheered (excluding Yuuna) while the majority of the girls whined unhappily.

Almost instantly, Athrun was bombarded with his fan girls and random guys pleading to be on his team, he manages to shove all of them off with a firm NO. He teamed up with Kira, Fllay, Lacus, Shinn, and Meyrin while Dearka, Miriallia, Yzak, Shiho, and Luna formed a team with a guy name Rey Za Burrel.

"Why does everyone want to be on Athrun's team?" Cagalli asked Stella while raising an eyebrow.

"Aside from his supreme popularity, he's the captain of the school's basketball team." Stella giggled.

"I see…isn't that a little unfair to the other students?"

"Well yes, but that doesn't matter since it's just for fun. Besides, he tries to keep it somewhat fair by not teaming up with Dearka, who's the vice captain. Also he has Lacus and Meyrin on his team and they aren't very good at sports." Stella giggled some more.

There was another blow of the whistle and the game has started. Whichever team that scores 15 first wins the round. The winning teams then play against other winning teams for championship.

* * *

(AN: Blah I'm not good with describing sports so I'm skipping this part :D But it's pretty clear who won right?)

**After School**

The group made their way to the parking lot, chatting about the basketball game.

"Man that was a good game Athrun; you whooped Yuuna's team good the first round. They didn't even get to score!" Dearka said with a loud laugh.

"They just suck at basketball." Athrun smirked.

"You were really good Athrun." Cagalli complimented.

"Thanks Cagalli." Athrun replied, a barely noticeable pink hue appearing on his face.

"TIME TO GO TO THE MOVIEEES!" Dearka yelled out.

The group stopped next to three cars. A sleek black one that belonged to Athrun, a shiny silver one that was Yzak's, and a deep blue one that was Kira's.

"So who am I riding with?" Cagalli asked with a grin.

"Me!" Was Athrun's a little too enthusiastic response. "Uh...cause I'm your tour guide after all…"Athrun covered up nervously as he was greeted by sly grins from his so called friends.

Meyrin was all but happy as she gritted her teeth at the thought of Cagalli sitting in the same car as her and Athrun…and Luna. She quickly made a desperate dash towards the passenger seat but a hand shot out and grabbed her arm. She angrily turned around and was prepared to scold the person but realized that it was her older sister Lunamaria.

"What Luna?" She asked irritatingly, her mood growing worse as she watched Cagalli open the passenger door to Athrun's luxurious black car.

"Sit in the back; I want to talk to you." Lunamaria said with a hint of seriousness.

"Ugh!" Meyrin yanked her arm from her sister and slid into the back seat, Lunamaria could only sigh and follow suit.

Athrun inserted his keys and started up his car. He mentally cheered as Cagalli got inside the passenger seat. Putting his gears in reverse, he backed out of the parking space and made his way towards the exit.

"So Cagalli, how do you like PLANTs so far?" Athrun asked, keeping his eyes on the road.

"Hmm I really like it; it's nice getting away from my Dad and finally being independent." Cagalli said after a moment of consideration.

"Oh do you live by yourself?"

"Yup! The apartment's pretty small and it's perfect for me." Cagalli exclaimed with a bright smile.

"I see, so are you supporting yourself or do you get some money from your Dad?" Athrun couldn't help but be nosy.

"Of course I'm supporting myself, that's why I got a job silly!" There was pride in her voice.

Athrun chuckled. "You're right, sorry Milady." He grinned teasingly.

Cagalli rolled her eyes. "You can stop that now you know."

"Nah I think I like calling you that, or maybe you prefer Princess?" He suggested with a cunning smile.

"NO WAY! You better not call me that Athrun!" She yelled, red in the face.

Athrun could only smirk. "We'll see…"

**Meanwhile in the back of the car…**

Luna couldn't help but sigh as she witness the pleasant conversation between Athrun and Cagalli, knowing Meyrin, she's most likely not happy at all.

Sneaking a glance to her left, she sees that Meyrin's fists were clutched tightly on her lap. Her expression may seem unreadable to others but knowing the girl for 16 years, Luna knows exactly what she's feeling right now.

Knowing that Meyrin will not want to talk to her right now, she decided to text her instead.

Meyrin felt her phone vibrate on her lap and picked it up, knowing that it was a text from Luna.

[Hey Mey, r u ok?]

She frowned and narrowed her eyes before typing a quick reply.

[Wat do u think? -_-]

Luna sighed. 'Yup, she's in a bad mood alright.'

[Is this about Athrun n Cagalli?]

The frown on Meyrin's face deepened.

[…]

Luna rolled her eyes at the reply she got.

[Mey, this doesn't mean that ur chance wit Athrun is gone u kno dat rite?]

Meyrin looked thoughtful for a minute.

[It feels like it is…-_-]

[Well u dunno dat, maybe Athrun doesn't even like her…:P]

Meyrin immediately turned to her sister, giving her a are-you-kidding-me- look.

[R u blind Luna? Every1 can c dat they r FLIRTING!]

Luna pursed her lips.

[Okay…but u can still try nd win him over -.-]

Now it was Meyrin's turn to roll her eyes.

[U don't hav to tell me dat, I alrdy kno nd I will win him over :P]

[Well gd luck im sure u can do it! :D]

Meyrin smiled at Luna.

[Thx Luna! Btw sry for being such a B. earlier D:]

Luna smiled back.

[Np! Im ur older sis after all.]

* * *

**Kira's Car**

"I heard that Inception was really confusing." Kira inquired as he drove smoothly.

Fllay turned to face him in the passenger seat. "I hope not! I don't think I'll be able to understand it if it gets too confusing." An uncertain look was on her face.

"It's okay Fllay, I'm sure you'll be fine." Lacus reassured from the seat behind Kira.

Kira chuckled and grinned. "Don't worry Fllay I'll explain everything to you if you get lost, and Lacus, I'm sure you'll be the first to figure out everything Miss Straight A's.

Lacus could only smile and shrug, but you can see a tinge of red on her cheeks. This however, did not go unnoticed by Fllay.

Fllay was a little confused from this. 'Does Lacus like Kira?'

"Shinn you'll explain everything to me if I get lost right?" Stella asked Shinn with her puppy-dog eyes.

"Of course I will, Stella." Shinn chuckled, smiling and stroking her hair gently.

"Yay! It's going to be awesome!"

* * *

**Movie Theater**

As soon as the group arrived at the movie theater parking lot, Cagalli leaped out of Athrun's car and raced to the ticket line, getting there before the others even had the time to react.

By the time the group caught up to her, she was already standing at the side of the line, in her hands, were two tickets for Inception. She didn't waste time in waving the two tickets in front of Athrun's face.

"HAH! I told you I would pay you back!" Cagalli exclaimed loudly as Athrun's pretty jaws almost hit the floor.

He quickly regained from shock. "C'mon Cagalli you really didn't have to." Athrun said exasperatingly.

"But I want to!" Cagalli pouted.

Athrun paused for a few seconds before dipping his head with a sigh. "Alright alright, thanks. Let's go, the movie's about to start." He said with a chuckle.

After a few minutes of waiting for the others and getting their movie snacks, the group sat on the top row of the seats. Some of them with huge buckets of popcorn, while others had candy.

The movie has been playing for about 15 minutes now and the group was completely absorbed, eyes never leaving the gigantic screen. Meyrin who sat on Athrun's left stole a glance at him, admiring how cute he looked while stuffing popcorn in his mouth with his eyes glued to the screen.

She lightly poked his arm in hopes of getting his attention. Athrun turned to look at her questionably.

"Athrun, um can I share some of your popcorn?" Meyrin whispered softly, if it weren't for the dark theater, you can see that her cheeks were getting quite red.

"Sure, here." Athrun whispered back, offering her the bucket.

"Thanks!"

He nodded and looked at Luna who sat on the other side of Meyrin and noticed that she didn't have any popcorn either. Stealing a glance at Cagalli who sat on his right with an equally large bucket of popcorn, Athrun felt a light bulb go on.

"Here Meyrin, you can share this with Luna." Athrun said quietly as he gave her his bucket.

Meyrin looked at him with confusion. "But, what about you?" She asked.

"It's alright, I can share with Cagalli." Athrun smiled, completely oblivious to the change in expression on Meyrin's face.

He turned to Cagalli and tapped her on her shoulder. She was beyond engrossed in the movie that she didn't even notice. Athrun poked her again, this time harder and Cagalli's attention finally snaps to him.

"Uh…yea Athrun?" She asked him absentmindedly, paying attention to the movie once again not wanting to miss a single part.

"Care to share your popcorn?"

Cagalli looked at him with a raised brow. "What happened to yours? Did you eat it all already?"

"No! I gave mine to Meyrin and Luna!" Athrun held back a chuckle at her ridiculous conclusion.

"Oh…okay fine." She offered him her popcorn and was once again immersed inside the movie.

"Thanks." Athrun grinned.

* * *

**After Movies**

"Oh my God that was such a great movie!" Cagalli exclaimed, stretching her muscles from sitting so long.

"But you kept asking me who or what level of dream the people were in." Athrun pointed out teasingly.

"Well I kept getting confused!"

"Obviously…" He smirked.

*SMACK*

"OUCH!" Athrun yelped at Cagalli who was already walking towards his car. He followed her as he rubbed his sore arm.

Miriallia, Lacus, and Shiho stared at the couple for a few seconds before breaking out into grins. 'This is going to be interesting.'

* * *

**Athrun's Car**

"Make a left over here." Cagalli instructed to Athrun as they neared her apartments. Arriving at a four story building with the name Concord Apartments on it, Athrun stopped and shifted his gear on park.

Turning to Athrun, Cagalli smiled and said "Thanks for the ride Athrun."

"No problem, good thing you only live 10 minutes from school." Athrun replied.

Cagalli laughed, "I'll see you tomorrow!" turning to Luna and Meyrin sitting in the back, she waved. "Night guys!"

Since Athrun was in the car, Meyrin forced a smile and nodded at her while Luna waved back.

"G'night Cagalli."

Cagalli turns to her apartment but before she can take two steps, a voice called out.

"Cagalli wait! Um…"

Turning back around, she looked at Athrun questionably. "Hm?"

Athrun turned a bright red. "Um…uh…can I get your phone number?" He stammered, feeling extremely shy all of a sudden.

In the back, Meyrin and Luna opened their mouth in shock.

Cagalli blushed. "S-sure, um do you have a pen?"

Athrun takes out his iPhone 4. "N-no need, uh…just put it in my phone." He started at the phone, avoiding eye contact.

"Right…Hahaha." Cagalli smiled sheepishly before taking his phone and entering her cell number.

Athrun grinned as she hands him his phone back. "Thanks! See you tomorrow."

Cagalli waved goodnight and heads into her apartment building.

* * *

**The Zala House**

Athrun stood under his showerhead, enjoying the warm water that sprayed onto his body, his thoughts surrounding a certain blonde. No matter how hard he tried to think about something else, his mind kept drifting back to Cagalli. He thought about her beautiful silky blonde hair that shorter than the average girl's. Her bright smile that lit up her lovely face. Her adorable pout when she pretended to feel sad. And he thought of her gorgeous amber eyes that he often find himself getting lost in.

Suddenly realizing that he's daydreaming about a girl that he had just met, he shook his head and felt his cheeks getting hot.

"What's happening to me?" Athrun whispered, his brows furrowing in confusion. He quickly turned the water to cold and splashed his face with the cool water.

_10 minutes later…_

Athrun emerged from his bathroom with a yellow towel on his head and wearing a bathrobe. Taking a seat on the edge of his king size bed, he noticed his phone on the bedside table. Athrun picked up the phone and stared at it intently, his thoughts drifting to Cagalli once again.

"Should I send a text?" Athrun pondered, ruffling his still damp hair in mild frustration.

After a few moments of mental debate, Athrun slowly typed a few words on the smooth touch screen. Lying down on his deep red comforter, he covered his eyes with one hand while the other hand holding the phone laid spread out to his side.

Taking a deep breath, his thumb made contact with the screen.

Message Sent.

* * *

**Cagalli's Apartment**

Cagalli was digging out a fresh oversized t-shirt from her tiny closet when she heard a familiar melody go off on her cell phone. She puts on her shirt before walking to her bed and picked up the phone. Raising an eyebrow at the screen that indicated a new message from an unknown number, she shrugged and pressed a button and opened the text message.

[Hello Cagalli, this is Athrun. Just wanted to say goodnight. (: ]

Cagalli felt her cheeks get hot as she read and re-read the words displayed on the screen of her phone. She couldn't prevent the grin that was already spreading across her face. Jumping on her bed and burying her face into her soft pillow, she stared at her phone for another minute before clicking Reply.

* * *

**Back to Athrun**

Athrun waited for what seemed like an eternity, his eyes were threatening to shut when a familiar ringtone filled his room. He immediately jerked wide awake and read the new message that was already displayed on the screen.

[G'nite Athrun! Sweet dreams. :D]

Athrun smiled contently and drifted off into a blissful sleep.

* * *

:D Review anyone?


	5. Plans and Red Bimbos

**AN: **MERRY CHRISTMAS everybody! I'm back with a new chapter! I'M SO SORRY THAT IT'S SO LATE D: I was dying from all the HW I get from college. T0T Thank you so much to all the readers who reviewed! Those really encouraged me to keep writing (Seriously! 17 reviews? I NEVER thought I would get that many for a single chapter!) and I love you all for that! Thank goodness my first semester is OVER!…I'm excited to be able to have more time for this story (: I hope…haha

_**To The Awesome Peoples: **__(Scroll down if you don't want to read this!)_

**AnimeLover4ever13 - **Omg you're so sweet! I'm very happy to have a reader like you and I'm sorry that this chapter took so long, I hope you'll keep reading! :D

**KazumiSakura - **Thank you for reviewing, I'm happy that you love the story ^-^

**AsuCaga4ever - **I'm sorry for taking so long D: Thanks for R&R and hope you keep reading! (:

**Trulyanimelover06 - **Thank you! I hope I won't take this long to update in the future.

**Niloveyousoo **- I'm glad that you like my story (: Thx!

**akatsuki-justice **- Your reviews are so cute ^^ I will do my best! Thank you and keep reading!(:

**Maharlika96 - **o.O I'm sorry what do you mean by real pairings? I thought it was pretty obvious that it was AthrunxCagalli? Sorry if it's not clear D:

**Dhevz - **YES HE ISSS! Hehe **(**_**#**_^_0_^_**#**_**)** Stay tuned if ya wanna read more Athrun in love!

**mrs. Zala - **You're welcome! Thanks for the R&R!

**Nina - **Thank yooouuu! (:

**Aly - **Aww thank you, glad you liked it! ^-^

**Jodeist - **LOL "disappointment of her life" I'm liking your evilness… *0* THANKS FOR THE REVIEW!

**fox-white-moon - **Thanks for the notification ^^ Did I PMed you about that already? Haha well thanks again! (ME TOO!)

**Sundowners -** Sorry it's so fluffy! D: I really like fluff! (Even though I'm 18 - Ashamed ._.) I don't think I'll be able to write anything dark or angsty until I get more experienced with writing and develop my vocab more haha xD Sadly, my Yunna will be cliché because I lack creative imagination. OTL

**Littlemsstrawberry - **Thank you for liking my story and reviewing! ^-^

**Cagalli Haruka Zala - **Lol you're so cute! Thanks for reviewing! ^-^

**AyameRose -** Lol well your sense of smell is sure guiding you in the right direction :D Dogs FTW man!

**ONCE AGAIN! THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH MUAH~~~3**

**K on with the chapter!**

**

* * *

**

**Cliques and Colors **

**Chapter 5**

_It was an ominous and stormy night, the pattering sound of harsh rain drops hitting roofs and windows loud in contrast to the empty and lifeless streets. Footsteps can be heard in the distance, dirt soaked boots squeaked and stomped on the metal stairs of the apartment complex. Climbing higher and higher until it reached its destination._

_Cagalli tossed and turned on her bed, having trouble falling asleep with the sounds of the rain and the rumble of the occasional thunder. Lightning lit up the sky for a second, casting menacing shadows on the walls of her bedroom. She let out a small whimper and pulled her blanket over her head. _

_Suddenly, she heard a knock. Before Cagalli even had the time to think who it could be, a terrible chorus of banging came._

_She sits up quickly, her heart pounding in her chest. Sliding carefully out of her bed, she cautiously made her way out of her bedroom and into her living room. The banging abruptly stopped. Cagalli stared at her apartment door, holding her breath._

_Without warning, a loud deafening sound cut through the sound of the pattering rain, louder than thunder. Cagalli was frozen with shock and fear as she watched her door break and fall backwards. There was a sudden pounding of footsteps before she was surrounded by five men, sporting shades and dressed in all black. She wanted to scream, but found herself unable to let out a single sound. Terrified, she stared at the five intruders before finally finding her voice._

"_W-who are you people? Why are you here?" Her voice was loud, but there was a tremble in it. She gasped as one of the men opened his mouth to reply. _

"_Cagalli Yula Athha, we've come to take you back to Orb, under the order of your father, Uzumi Nara Attha." _

_Her eyes widened with panic. "No! No…I don't want to go back! Get out now!" She managed to yell. _

"_This is not optional Princess, if you shall resist, we have permission to take you back with force." _

_Cagalli slowly shook her head from side to side, unable to believe what was happening. She desperately made a dash towards an opening between two of the men but before she can take 2 steps, a foot shot out and tripped her. She collided onto the floor with a shriek, she began screaming and struggling as the men started binding her wrists and feet with chains. The man who spoke earlier promptly placed two fingers firmly onto the side of her neck, seizing her struggles and sending her into unconsciousness._

_

* * *

_

"No…no! Let me stay…" Cagalli struggled in her sleep, her sheets getting tangled between her legs as she tossed and turned.

Suddenly her eyes snapped open and she shot up on her bed, her breath coming in deep and harsh gasps. Cagalli sighed with relief when she realized that it was all just a dream. But she can't help but feel a little worried; she didn't want to go back. She rubbed her eyes before glancing at the clock.

4:56 A.M.

'Good,' She thought. 'two more hours before I have to wake up.'

Burying her face into her soft pillow, she closed her eyes before falling into a dreamless slumber.

* * *

The sun was shining in the clear blue, almost cloudless sky. It was a beautiful morning, not too chilly with the warmth of the sunrays. Cagalli was sitting under one of the beautiful trees available on the school grounds. It was well into Autumn and the leaves have already turned brown, yellow, orange, red, and every color in between.

A breeze swept by, she shivered and adjusted her deep green scarf that was wrapped around her neck and shoulder. Since the weather was getting chilly, the students have modified their uniforms, but the skirts and pants are to remain the same. Cagalli has changed her short sleeved white shirt into a longer one with a thicker material, and added dark grey leggings with leg warmers.

It has been 3 weeks since her first day here at Destiny High, Cagalli found the school to be fun and enjoyed being with her new friends. Her new waitress job was also enjoyable, save for the rude picky customers and the occasional flirt.

During the past few weeks, she was quick to get along with most of the people here, although, there were a few that has gotten onto her nerves.

Yunna Roma Seiran was the first one. The guy-er-sissy is one of the most annoying person she has ever met! EVERYDAY, every-freaking-school-day, he finds time in his schedule to stalk Cagalli and proclaim his undying love for her. It always ended up with him getting injured but apparently he didn't have a brain to TAKE A FREAKING HINT. Even if it's in the shape of Cagalli's fist flying towards his oh-so-precious face.

The second annoying person- or should she say group, is the Athrun Zala Fan Club Clique (AZFCC for short). Is there even a need for an explanation here? What part of screaming, eep-ing, eyelash batting, and pouty lip-ing that's not annoying? Poor poor Athrun, and his friends.

And last but not least, Meyrin Hawke. This girl is just weird, one second she seem so sweet and nice, the next she's either ignoring Cagalli or giving her a death glare. Cagalli is 243% sure that Meyrin is IN LOVE with Athrun Zala, but why is Meyrin hating on Cagalli?

Well, it seems that Athrun and Cagalli have been getting pretty close lately. They always have something to talk about with each other, sometimes they even flirt but don't realize it. Miriallia once told Cagalli that their relationship was more than friends, but less than a couple.

Thinking about this, Cagalli couldn't help but blush. Truthfully, she's never been interested in guys, or things like love. She doesn't know if she likes Athrun in that way or not, but she does know that he was different. She's thought about this before, but always end up deciding that liking Athrun would be too complicated, what with his fan girls and of course…Meyrin.

Still, she can't help but smile every time she's with him.

Suddenly there was a rustle behind her.

"Whatcha doin?"

Cagalli grinned, speak of the devil. "I don't know, what are YOU doing?"

Athrun chuckled before taking a seat next to her. "Do you even need to ask? It's the same every morning, FAN GIRLS!"

"Go find your own tree." Cagalli said with a cute pout.

"But I'd rather hide under this one." He teased, his eyebrows dancing.

Cagalli raised a brow, fighting back a grin. "Oh? And why's that?"

Athrun threw his left arm around Cagalli's shoulder and replied with all the seriousness he could muster. "So you can protect me if they find me."

Cagalli slapped his arm lightly, fighting back a small blush. "Oh Athrun, you're so heroic!" She cooed in a high pitched voice laced with sarcasm.

"Why of course!"

Suddenly, a high pitched seemingly pre-pubescent voice disrupted the comfortable atmosphere.

"OHH CAGAAALLIIII~"

Instantly recognizing the annoying voice, Athrun and Cagalli fought the urge to sigh and roll their eyes.

A few yards away, a man with lavender hair and lavender pants was skipping towards their direction. Yes, skipping, with the hands flailing back and forth and everything. He spotted Cagalli quite instantly before running straight towards her.

Athrun and Cagalli quickly moved aside, causing Yunna to slam straight onto the tree trunk. He let out a pained groan before stiffly falling backwards, seeing stars. The witnessing pair burst out laughing before stepping over the twitching body and making their way into the school.

* * *

Second Period - Math

Cagalli was staring at her worksheet, but her mind was nowhere near solving math problems. Her mind kept wondering back to the dream that she had the night before.

'_Sigh, I hope Daddy doesn't find out that I'm at PLANTS, I want to stay here_.'

Focusing her thoughts back to her worksheet, Cagalli mentally cursed. '_Ugh! I don't understand any of these! I seriously need to get better at math_!'

She glanced at Meyrin and noticed that she was already done. Figures, the girl was a genius. She's supposed to be in her Junior year but due to her academic achievements, the Principal has granted her the privilege of skipping the grade. Meyrin is one of the youngest Seniors and probably one of the smartest.

She then glanced at Athrun, he'd just completed his worksheet. Cagalli perked up. '_Maybe I can ask Athrun to tutor me_!'

Class Ends

Cagalli gathered her things into her backpack before yawning and stretching out her arms.

"Tired already Cagalli?" Athrun asked as he also gathered his things.

Cagalli snorted. "Math always makes me tired Athrun."

Athrun chuckled. "So did you finish your worksheet today?"

"No…" Cagalli sighed as they made their way out of the class to go to lunch.

"You know you can always ask me if you need help right?"

Cagalli grinned. "Well…Do you mind coming over to help me after school today?"

Athrun felt his face heat up. "Y-you mean, your apartment?"

Cagalli nodded. "Mhm, or I can go to your house? Either way's fine with me." She said as she looked at him with large innocent eyes.

Athrun caught himself getting lost in her amber eyes but snapped out of it quickly. "S-sure, no problem Cagalli." He managed to say with a nervous laugh.

"So…my place?" Cagalli smiled excitingly.

"Fine by me." He gave an affirmative nod and smiled that smile that could make any female weak in their knees.

Cagalli would have blushed but she was too excited to. "Yay! Thank you Athrun! Lunch is on me today!"

"No problemo amigo." Athrun laughed.

"It's amiga Athrun! I'm a girl!" Cagalli smacked his arm.

"OW! I know you're a girl Cagalli! I just wanted it to rhyme…" Athrun rubbed his sore arm with a pout.

Cagalli stuck out her tongue. "Whatever-

"ATHRUN!" Meyrin suddenly came from behind.

"Oh hey Mey." "Hello Meyrin."Athrun and Cagalli greeted.

"Oh hi." Meyrin barely acknowledged Cagalli before turning her attention to Athrun. "Why didn't you wait for me Athrun? I needed to talk to the teacher."

"Sorry Mey, I didn't know." He replied with an apologetic smile.

Meyrin was dazzled by the smile and her previous thoughts flew out the window. "It's okay! Anyways we should hang out at my house today Athrun! We can do our homework and maybe watch some movies!" She gushed with excitement.

"Er…Sorry Mey, I can't. Cagalli and I already made plans to study at her apartment tonight." Athrun said with a shrug.

"Oh…Okay." Meyrin furrowed her brows.

"Sorry Mey…Maybe next ti-

"Can I join you guys?" Meyrin cut in.

Athrun and Cagalli were caught off guard.

"Uh…Cagalli?" Athrun looked at Cagalli for an answer to Meyrin's question. After all, it is her apartment.

Cagalli was having a mental debate.

'_Damn! Why does she have to ask that?'_

'_MAN I don't want her to come! We both dislike each other so why is she trying to butt in my home?'_

'_She likes Athrun! DUH! She wants to make sure nothing happens behind her back!'_

'_Nothing was going to happen! Athrun and I are just friends!'_

'_Uhuh, that's not what everyone else is thinking.'_

'_Shut up! Who are you anyways?'_

'_I'm your cliché conscience…Duh.'_

'_Oh no wonder you're so annoying then…'_

'_EXCUSE ME?'_

'_I believe I was loud and clear, not literally of course.'_

'_Whatever! Just say no to that bimbo already!'_

'_I can't say no! She's Athrun's friend.'_

'_CURSES!'_

"Um sure Meyrin, you can come too." Cagalli replied with reluctance.

"Great! Well I gotta run to my locker real quick, I'll see you guys at lunch!' Meyrin beamed before dashing off.

When she was out of sight, Athrun and Cagalli both let out a sigh. Cagalli raised a brow. 'Why did he sigh?'

"What's wrong Athrun?"

Athrun sighed again and shrugged. "Well…it's just that Meyrin's been acting kinda strange lately."

"How so?" Cagalli asked curiously.

"She's been sort of clingy…and it reminds me of those dumb fangirls." He shook his head.

"Oh…well that's not good." Cagalli stuck her tongue out.

Athrun chuckled. "No it isn't. But she's my friend so I really hope that she doesn't keep acting like this."

Cagalli could only nod in agreement.

* * *

Meyrin stood in a corner of a secluded hallway, waiting for someone.

She waved when she sees a girl with shoulder length pink hair.

"So what did you call me here for?" Meer asked while examining her hot pink manicure.

"Just want to let you know that our plan to get rid of Yula will be in action tonight." Meyrin replied with a low tone, her eyes darting around for anyone who she might recognize. The last thing she need is for people to find out that she and Meer Campbell had made a private pack to get rid of Cagalli Yula.

"Oh really? Interesting…" Meer smirked. "What will you be doing?"

"Athrun and I are going to her house to study after school." Meyrin replied with an uncharacteristic smirk.

"Lovely, make sure you make her miserable." Meer narrowed her eyes.

"I will." Meyrin said before letting out a maniacal giggle.

* * *

**AN**: Okay guys! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Hmmm I was wondering if you guys would give me some ideas on how Meyrin should attempt/fail on making Cagalli miserable. What do you think should happen? I would really appreciate all your suggestions!

SEE YOU NEXT CHAPTER! Until then, don't forget to REVIEW! MERRY CHRISTMAS!


	6. Study and?

**AN: **Okay, I know that you guys are really mad at me (or forgot about me) for not updating for so long…to be honest, there really is no LEGIT excuse for the long wait. T-T

I'M REALLY REALLY SORRY! I guess I was just lazy…got hooked on a Facebook game…and yeah it's just sad. But I'm sincerely sorry, I feel like a hypocrite because I often find myself complaining when an author doesn't update for a while and it frustrates me! *Kicks self*

* * *

_**To The Awesome People who reviewed!: **__(Scroll down if you don't want to read this!)_

**TheEndIsNearDN – **Okay I liked all of your ideas EXCEPT the Meyrin making out with Athrun part…That is SO not happening LOL. xD But thank you for ur nice suggestions!

**KazumiSakura – **Well, right now I'm still not sure if Cagalli and Kira will be twins…Hmmm gotta do some brain storming!

**AsuCaga4ever – **Thank you for sending me that last review! It really got me off my lazy butt! (:

**AngelfishXD – **Aw childish? Lol I guess you're right haha :D

**Lacus Yamato **– I know what you mean gurlfrand…

**Ren **– I'm happy that you love my story ^-^ Sorry for the late update .

**littlemsstrawberry – **Yeah I like the idea of Athrun blowing up on Meyrin, but not just yet…it's still a little early since they're suppose to be good friends but I think I'll keep that idea in the back of my mind…I have a feeling that I'll be using it in the future! (:

**rizacaga - ***-* Ur review made me smile :D

**Cagalli Haruka Zala – **Lol oh yes they do…and yea ditto. Sorry for the late update T-T Hope you're still willing to read this…

**ishasucaga - **Thank yooouuu! (:

**Maharlika96 – **Oooh okay, it'll be ASUCAGA, Lacus/Kira/Flay, Stellar/Shinn, Dearka/Miri, Yzak/Shiho, Luna/Rey?, (Honestly, most of these are just the general pairings and I don't think I'll write anything that'll specifically focus on a couple other than asucaga :P

**Jodeist – **Unfortunately, this chapter might not be what you expect it to be D:

** – **Sorry I didn't update before New Year… T-T

1. I haven't decided on whether Kira and Cagalli will be related or not…but it'll be decided soon!

2. Yes, both Athrun's parent's are alive in this story…I think everyone's alive, I don't really like having people dead in my story D:

LOL! I like ur idea about making Athrun jealous xD

* * *

**ONCE AGAIN! THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH! I heart you all.**

**K on with the chapter!**

**DISCLAIMER: Yeah yeah we know the drill...I don't own GS/D blah blah blah...T-T  
**

**Cliques and Colors **

**Chapter 6**

**

* * *

**

**Library**

Meer had insisted that Meyrin come up with a solid plan before going to Cagalli's house. Meyrin at first was against the idea of skipping her lunchtime with Athrun but reluctantly agreed since Meer did have a point, she can't exactly go to Cagalli's house with nothing planned. Thinking that Athrun might worry, she sent him a text saying that she'll be doing a research paper in the library.

They settled in a secluded area in the library where people won't notice or hear them.

"So, how are you going to make her miserable?" Meer cut straight to the point as they sat down at an unoccupied table. She set her purse down and took out her makeup bag.

Meyrin pondered for a moment. "Hmm…How about I trip her and make her look like a fool in front of Athrun?"

Meer looked bored. "How amateurish, but not bad. Just be sure to make it look like an accident."

Meyrin rolled her eyes. "Duh!"

"Whatever, anything else?" She asked as she took out her compact to apply some matte powder on her slightly oily nose.

"OOH maybe I can trip and fall on Athrun, ah right into his big strong arms…" Meyrin was almost drooling as she got lost in her day dream. She would give anything to be in his arms.

"Don't you have anything else that doesn't include tripping?" Meer asked with annoyance. _This girl has no imagination._

"How about making out with him in front of that bitch? That'll sure make her miserable!"

Meer was getting irritated. "You think Athrun would be okay with that?" She narrowed her eyes at the red-head.

"Of course he will!"

"Right…"

"UGH whatever! What do YOU think I should do then?" She glared at the pink haired girl. She was tired of Meer criticizing her ideas.

Meer's face suddenly switched from bored to serious. "This is what you need to do. Dig up some dirt on that whore, something you can blackmail her with.

Meyrin looked interested. "But how am I going to do that?"

Meer wanted to smack the girl. _Is this girl stupid? I can't believe she skipped 11__th__ grade!_

"There's this thing called the INTERNET? Have you heard of that? Geez were you living in a cave or something?"

Meyrin's eyebrow twitched. "NO. I know what the INTERNET is. But how do I look her up? It's not like she's famous or whatever!"

"I DON'T KNOW! Just dig something out! USE YOUR GEEKY HACKING SKILLS OR SOMETHING! GAWD!"

"OKAY OKAY! FINE! I'll try!"

"Good, you go noodle with that* while I go make a move on Athrun." Meer smirked.

"HEY! YOU CAN'T DO THAT HE'S MINE!" Meyrin hissed.

"Says who? Anyways, later biaatch." She blew her a kiss before walking out of the library.

"Ugh!" Meyrin had no choice but to get on a computer and get to work. The first thing she did was typing in "Cagalli Yula" in a search engine.

Nothing came up about the blonde.

Next she hacked into the PLANTS database. (AN: I don't think anyone can do something like this but let's just pretend okay?)

'No Cagalli Yula in record'

_That's weird, how can there be nothing on her? Wait! Didn't she say that she was from ORB?_

She quickly navigated to the Orb Database but it was heavily protected.

_A challenge huh? This should be fun. _Meyrin smirked before popping her fingers.

10 minutes of hacking later…

_AHAH! Finally in! Let's see Cagalli Yula…huh? No Cagalli Yula but there's a Cagalli Yula Athha?_

She clicked on the name but instead of showing a profile of 'Cagalli Yula Athha', it redirected her to Uzumi Nara Athha's profile.

Meyrin stared at the computer screen in disbelief.

_Isn't this the Representative of Orb?_ She'd seen his pictures on newspapers and magazines, as well as television appearances.

She took a closer look at a picture on the profile, it was a picture of the Representative and a young blonde girl.

_SHE LOOKS JUST LIKE YULA! Could it be? Could she be the Representative of Orb's daughter? A PRINCESS? But that's…not possible! I've never heard of any news about the Representative of Orb having a daughter! No…no way._

Something else caught her eye.

'Princess' Status: _Missing_'

A smirk slowly crept onto Meyrin's face. "Interesting…"

* * *

**After School**

Dearka yawned and stretched as he and the crew walked towards the parking lot.

"Hey guys, who wants to come to my house tonight for pizza and movies?"

Milly turned to him, and shrugged. "Sure, I think the girls and I are free, but no horror or gory movies, got it?" She narrowed her eyes at him. Lacus, Shiho, Stella and Luna nodded, agreeing with Miriallia.

"Sorry but I can't, I have to finish some homework tonight." Cagalli said as she smiled sheepishly at them.

"Aww that's too bad Cags, can't you just skip it like I do?"

"Nope! Unlike you, I actually care about my grade."

Dearka pouted and sighed. "Fine…how about you guys?" he turned to the guys.

All but Athrun agreed. "Well I won't be going either, I'm helping her." He said as he pointed a finger at Cagalli.

The gang stared at them incredulously.

"Uhm…Yeah, I'm not really good with math." Cagalli confessed with a small blush.

The guys couldn't help but smirk while the girls tried to suppress their giggles.

"Oh reeeeally now?" Dearka asked with a sly grin.

"Yes really!" Athrun and Cagalli replied simultaneously, their cheeks turning a darker shade of red.

"Oh alright, you two have fun then."

"It's not just them two, I'm going too." Meyrin suddenly spoke up.

Saved for Athrun and Cagalli, everyone was surprised at what she said.

Luna narrowed her eyes at her sister. _She's up to something…_

Lacus, Miri, Shiho, and Stella exchanged uneasy looks. They were well aware of Meyrin's feelings towards Athrun and they know that he and Cagalli are getting close. Having the three of them together would surely turn into something ugly.

"Oh…Man why are you three making plans without us?" Dearka whined.

Cagalli shrugged and patted his back. "Sorry Dearka, but you're not in my math class."

"Even if he was, he wouldn't be any help anyway." Miri laughed.

Dearka gapped and sputtered. "Hey! I'm pretty good at math!"

Yzak and Shinn snorted. "Yeah you keep thinking that."

"Thanks guys…I love the support." Dearka said with sarcasm as he lowered his head.

* * *

**Cagalli's Apartment**

"Welcome to my humble abode." Cagalli bowed theatrically as she welcomed Athrun and Meyrin into her apartment.

"You weren't kidding when you said that it was small, but I like it, it's nice." Athrun complimented with a chuckle as he toured around.

The place was homey with a modern touch. A kitchen can be seen to the left as you walked through the entry hall with marble counters acting as a divider for the kitchen and living room. There was a small dining area just a few feet ahead of the kitchen completed with a small glass dining table and dining chairs. The living room was nicely equipped with a couch, a couple of sofas, a bean bag chair, a small coffee table and a medium sized flat screen TV on a makeshift TV stand. To the right of the living room is a glass door covered by curtains that lead to a balcony. And further north from the entry hall were two doors, Cagalli's room was on the right while the left was the bathroom.

"Hm yeah it's cute!" Meyrin mentally rolled her eyes. _Psh this is like the size of my garage!_

"Thanks," She was mostly talking to Athrun. "Make yourself at home, you guys want anything to drink?"

"Anything's fine with me." Athrun gave her a small grin.

"Prune juice?" Cagalli raised a brow.

"Y-yeah, sure I can drink that! I love that stuff…" Athrun laughed nervously as he tried to mask his horror.

"Okay! I'll make sure to pour you an extra big glass." She made her way to the kitchen.

"Oh…you really don't have to Cagalli…" He almost begged.

Cagalli turned to look at him. "You sure?"

Athrun responded by nodding furiously.

That did it. Cagalli burst out laughing. "Oh my god Athrun! Your expression is s-so FUNNY!" She said between giggles.

Athrun just looked at her with a confused expression, still pretending to be unafraid of drinking prune juice.

"It's okay Athrun! I'm not going to make you drink prune juice! Ew…"

"Oh…" Athrun breath a sigh of relief before giving the still laughing Cagalli a how-could-you look. "That's not funny!"

"Yes it was! Anyways, Sprite?" She took out a green 2 liter bottle from the refrigerator.

"You so get me." The previous prank was totally forgotten.

Cagalli laughed. "You know, if you keep drinking this, it'll make you fat." She looked at him seriously.

Athrun shrugged. "You'll still love me." He grinned slyly as he watched her pour the fizzy drink into a tall glass.

She blushed at the nonchalant-ness. "In your dreams ZALA!" She almost shoved the glass into his hands, fortunately nothing spilled.

"Eyy…First name please." Athrun chided.

"OKAY! Can I get a glass of ice tea with lemon please?" Meyrin finally decided to cut in. Athrun and Cagalli both paused and turned to her, suddenly remembering that there was another person with them.

"Um, I don't have that." _What the hell? This is a house not a damn restaurant!_

Meyrin gave an exasperated sigh. "Fine, sprite for me too…"

Cagalli's eye twitched. _Rude Bitch._ "Alrighty then." She went to get another glass.

"So where should we study?" Athrun took a sip of the cold drink.

The question was directed at Cagalli but Meyrin grabbed onto his free arm and dragged him to the living room. "Let's do it on the couch!" She plopped down and set her backpack on the coffee table. She looked at Athrun and patted the spot next to her, gesturing him to sit.

Athrun scratched his head and turned to the kitchen. "Hey Cagalli, is it alright if we study on the couch?"

"Sounds good!" Cagalli hollered as she put the sprite bottle back in the fridge.

"Alright." Athrun sighed as he took a seat on the area Meyrin patted, but tried to keep a gap in between them. Recently, he's been feeling uncomfortable being near her.

Meyrin noticed the gap. _Not close enough!_ She scooted closer to him.

"Uh…Let's get started." He unzipped his backpack and took out a Pre-Cal textbook and a notebook.

"OKAY!"

Cagalli was walking to the living room when she saw Meyrin scoot closer to Athrun. She rolled her eyes. _Why is she being so obviously desperate?_

She walked to them and handed a cup to Meyrin and set her own down on the coffee table.

The couch was big enough to fit three people and thankfully the last spot was not next to Meyrin.

"So where should we start?" Cagalli asks as she took a seat next to Athrun, much to Meyrin's dismay. _DAMN, I should've sat in the middle!_

"Hm…We shoul—"

Before Athrun could finish his sentence, Meyrin shoved her worksheet in front of his face. "Athrun! Help me solve this one! I don't get it!" She whined as she blindly pointed to a question.

"Okay…Let me look at it." Athrun looked at the problem and raised a brow. "Uh, Mey? This one's already solved. This whole worksheet is done!" Even though Athrun was a calm person by nature, he was getting irritated.

Meyrin turned red with embarrassment. "Uh…T-that's right! I just wanted you to check to see if they were right!" She couldn't help but stutter.

Athrun sighed. "Alright but we should help Cagalli first, she barely got half of her worksheet done today." He shot Cagalli a teasing grin.

"Hey! I tried my hardest!" Cagalli pouted.

"I know." He chuckled and petted her head.

"HEY! What am I a dog to you?" She shouted before slapping his arm, blushing ever so slightly.

"Ouch! Well no, you act more like a cat." Athrun grinned.

"Gee THANKS." She crossed her arms.

Athrun just chuckled. "Okay let's get started on finishing this."

"Okay…" Cagalli sighed.

Meanwhile, Meyrin is just sitting there enviously glaring at the couple next to her. _UGH! Athrun isn't even paying any attention to me! What should I do? Hmm…OH I GOT IT!_

She grabbed her glass of sprite from the coffee table and quickly chugged it down, she almost coughed at the burning sensation as the fizzy drink rushed down her throat and felt a big burp coming up. But she managed to suppress it.

"Hey Cagalli, can I get a refill?" Meyrin pointed at the now empty glass.

Cagalli raised an eyebrow. _Dang, how did she drink that fast?_ "Sure, the Sprite's in the fridge, help yourself." She shrugged and turned her attention back to Athrun and her worksheet.

Meyrin masked her scowl. _Damn, that didn't work…_

"Thanks…" She sighed and made her way towards the kitchen. She took out the two liter bottle from the refrigerator and was about to pour herself another glass when another idea popped into her head.

Athrun and Cagalli were almost finished with a problem when a loud sound of something breaking came from the kitchen.

"What was that?" Cagalli asked before they got up and went to the kitchen. There they see a shocked Meyrin with bits and pieces of broken glass next to her feet.

"What happened? Are you okay Meyrin?" Athrun asked.

Meyrin quickly latched onto Athrun as he got closer. "Y-yes, I'm okay, it was an accident! I'm sorry Cagalli!" She managed to stutter, but was snickering in her head.

"It's okay, don't worry about it." Cagalli bend down to pick up some big pieces of broken glass, trying to ignore the uncomfortable feeling she was getting when she saw Meyrin hold onto Athrun so closely. She didn't even realize that she accidently cut her finger in the process.

Athrun instantly noticed. "Cagalli what are you doing!" He quickly pried himself away from Meyrin and pulled Cagalli's hands away from the glass. "You're bleeding!"

Cagalli's eyes widened at the sight of blood running down her fingers.

"Oops." Was all she managed to say as she smiled sheepishly at Athrun.

Athrun gave her an incredulous stare before dragging her towards the sink. Once there, he started shuffling through the kitchen cabinets. "Where are the band-aids?" He asked with a hint of impatience.

"It's okay Athrun, it's just a small cut." Cagalli sighed as she opened the drawer next to the cutting board and took out a small box with her uninjured hand.

Athrun rushed over to her and took a band-aid out of the box. "Go wash your finger." He instructed as he ripped off the plastic on the small band-aid.

"Eesh, someone's bossy." She feigned annoyance as she ran her right hand under cold water.

Athrun could only roll his eyes. He noticed that Meyrin was still standing in the same spot. "You're not hurt anywhere are you Meyrin?"

"Oh, u-um no, I'm fine." She stammered with a blush.

"Good, do you think you can clean the glass up? Don't use your hands, the broom is over there." Athrun instructed as he pointed to a corner.

Meyrin was a bit shocked. She couldn't believe that Athrun was pretty much ordering her to do something, she almost wished that she DID get hurt so he can worry over her instead of Cagalli. But knowing better than to whine, she complied.

"Sure…I'm on it."

"Thanks."

"My finger's washed." Cagalli said as she wiped her hands with a paper towel.

"Okay, hold out your finger." He then carefully and delicately wrapped the small band-aid around her cut. "Better?"

Cagalli wiggled her finger. "You know, you should become a nurse or something…"

Athrun laughed and rubbed the back of his head. "Well I don't know about that…"

Meyrin could only sulk as she watched them from the corner. _Damn that stupid bitch, I might just have to use my last resort…_

"Okay I think we have to get back to my homework now…" Cagalli suggested. Suddenly, her stomach growled.

Athrun stifled a laugh. "Do you have a platypus living in there or something?"

Cagalli blushed furiously. "HAH you are so funny. Besides, you can't blame me for being hungry, it's already 6! Aren't you hungry?"

"Well…Yeah, now that you mentioned it." Athrun chuckled sheepishly.

"See?" Cagalli smirked. She turned to Meyrin who was now putting away the broom and dustpan. "How about you Meyrin?"

Meyrin who was too immersed in thinking about her plan that she barely even paid attention to what they said, she looked at Cagalli in confusion. "What about me?"

"Are you hungry?" Cagalli repeated.

"Oh! Yeah I'm starved!" Meyrin gave a bogus laugh.

"Okay, so Chinese or pizza?" She took out her phone from her pocket.

"Both?" Athrun gave her a hopeful look.

Cagalli shot him a glare. "Pick only ONE piggy!"

Athrun snickered. "I was kidding, let's get Chinese."

"How about you Meyrin?" Cagalli turned to the redhead. _Why am I even being nice to her?_

Meyrin shrugged. "I'm fine with whatever."

"Okay Chinese it is!"

* * *

**8:30PM**

"YAY WE'RE FINALLY DONE!" Cagalli cheered as she held up her completed worksheet with joy.

"I can't believe it took us two hours…" Athrun groaned as he rotated his head and stretched.

"Do you know how long it would have taken me BY MYSELF?"

"You wouldn't have done it." He gave her a sly smile.

Cagalli smacked his arm for the nth time that night. "Jerk!"

"I'm kidding Cagalli! Man you hit hard." Athrun complained with a pout.

"You're such a baby!" Cagalli rolled her eyes and rubbed the sore spot on Athrun's arm.

Athrun felt his cheek heating up but managed to calm himself with a sigh. "So…What should we do now?"

"I don't know, we can watch a movie?" Cagalli suggested.

Athrun considered it for a moment and grinned. "Hmm…Sounds good."

However, Meyrin wasn't so psyched for the idea. She's been thinking of a way to leave as soon as possible so her plan can go into action.

"Um, Athrun? I should be getting home, Luna's called me twice already." Meyrin nervously asked him.

Athrun furrowed his dark eyebrows. "C'mon we can stay another hour, I want to relax my brain."

"But…She said Mom wants me home." Meyrin insisted.

Cagalli mentally rolled her eyes. "Yeah, maybe you guys should get going, it's almost 9 and we still have school tomorrow." She sighed and gave Athrun a nudge.

"Alright…" Athrun looked dismayed but slowly got up from the couch. Cagalli also stood up and stretched.

Athrun took this opportunity to gently pull Cagalli towards him and enclosed her in a warm hug. "See you tomorrow." He whispered in her ear. He didn't know how he suddenly became so bold.

Cagalli was blushing hard. Although this is not the first time they hugged. She can't help but feel flustered each time. She felt comfortable and safe in his arms. "Yeah, goodnight." She mumbled against his chest.

Meyrin watched them as she stood by the door. Her hands curled up into a fist as she trembled with rage. She glared at Cagalli with hatred and promised herself, _this will soon be over._

Athrun pulled back and slightly ruffled Cagalli's hair. "Night, don't let the bed bugs bite."

"Hey stop that!" Cagalli pouted and started pushing him towards the door of her apartment.

Athrun could only chuckle as he stumbled. "You know I can't help it!"

"Whatever!" Cagalli opened the door and pushed the still laughing Athrun out. She stuck her tongue out at him before shutting the door.

Bringing both hands up to cup her face, she can still feel the warmth from the blush. She sighed and made her way towards the coffee table to clean up the mess of Chinese takeout boxes but something caught her eyes.

"Hm…Isn't that Meyrin's jacket?" Cagalli pondered.

* * *

Athrun and Meyrin were taking the second flight of stairs down when Meyrin suddenly stopped.

"What's wrong? Did you forget something?" Athrun turned and asked.

"Yeah, I forgot my jacket! You go on ahead and I'll get my jacket really quick!" Meyrin said in a hurry before running back up the stairs.

"Sure…" He was tempted to go get the jacket for her so he can see Cagalli again, but decided that it wasn't such a great idea since he can still feel the blush from before.

* * *

Meyrin raced up the stairs to Cagalli's apartment door, she was about to knock on it when it swung open revealing the blonde holding a jacket in her hands.

"Oh hey you forgot your jacket! Here…" Cagalli handed the jacket to Meyrin.

"Um…Thanks."

"Alright, uh bye." Cagalli stepped in and started closing her door when Meyrin suddenly stopped her and shoved her way inside. Cagalli was shocked.

"What are you doing? Shouldn't you be going home?"

Meyrin narrowed her eyes at the blonde. "Shut up, I'm actually here to tell you to stay the hell away from Athrun!"

Cagalli's eyes widened in shock. "Excuse me?" She couldn't believe what she was hearing, _who the hell does she think she is?_

"You heard me! Stay away from him! He's mine!" Meyrin repeated, this time louder.

"You're kidding right? Who gave you the right to tell me what to do? And Athrun is not yours, you don't own him!" Cagalli yelled angrily.

"HAH, you think I'm kidding? Well what if I told you I know who you REALLY are?" Meyrin smiled sadistically.

Cagalli was stunned. "What are you talking about?" Her heart raced, _this can't be happening._

"Don't play dumb with me, Cagalli Yula ATHHA." She spat as she emphasized the last word. "I know you are the missing Princess of ORB, so unless you want your Daddy to find out about your little vacation in PLANT, I suggest you do what I say!" Meyrin hissed.

"How? How did you know?" Cagalli stared at Meyrin in disbelief.

Meyrin smirked with triumph. "I have my ways, all you have to do is stay away from Athrun and your secret will remain a secret." With those last words, she shoved past Cagalli and walked out of the door.

Cagalli could only stand rooted to the spot. She couldn't believe what had just happened. Meyrin found out who she was…and she's blackmailing her…

Suddenly her nightmare came rushing back.

_Athrun…_

* * *

*****That phrase was taken from the Disney Channel series Suite Life on Deck.

**AN: **So what did you guys think? Please review! I'll take anything, say whatever you want! Rant, complain, praise, throw rocks at me, suggestions, etc...I'll still lub joo *-*


	7. Frustration and Confessions

I'M SORRY X INFINITY for updating after SO LONG. The only excuse I can give you guys is that I just did not have time to write. Special thanks to **mrs. Zala** for the encouraging PM.

Now it's really late so I don't have time to reply to everyone who reviewed last chapter, sorry!

Without further ado, enjoy CHAPTER 7.

**Chapter 7: Frustration and Confession**

* * *

Athrun Zala has always been the perfect guy. He's among the top of his class, excelled at sports, and have the looks and body of a seasoned young male model.

He's the son of Patrick Zala and Lenore Zala. He's especially close to his mother since his father was always away on business trips.

When he first started in Destiny High, he thought that the idea of students choosing different colors to represent their group was odd and unnecessary. Initially, he just wore black and white and so did his friends. However, one morning while he was running late to school, he'd blindly threw on what looks to be a pair of black pants but were really navy blue. He hadn't realized it until he was called into the principal's office. Principal La Flaga had insisted that he just stick with the navy blue color instead of black and that was how the Navy Blue Clique was created.

Athrun Zala was a guy that had many friends, although most of his close friends were made from childhood. He doesn't often try to socialize with many people other than his close friends and is usually reserved. His best friend is Kira Yamato, whom he'd been friends with since pre-school. The rest of the gang met in middle school and they've been together ever since.

Athrun thought his life was good, minus the rabid fangirls. Still, he felt that something was missing from his life.

That changed when he met Cagalli Yula Athha.

He still remembers their first meeting and how he mistook her for one of his fangirls because she had been staring at his eyes. Looking back now, he felt a bit embarrassed because she was the complete opposite of a fangirl.

And then there was their second encounter.

He had been avoiding his fangirls and at the same time trying to get to his class on time when she bumped into him. Even though he was usually a reserved and patient kind of guy, he had let frustration get the best of him and yelled at her. That was also a bit embarrassing now that he think about it.

But her yelling back totally caught him off guard. Other than his mother, no woman has ever yelled at him before. She'd piqued his interest. What he didn't know was that he had been attracted to her since that moment on, that that was what was missing in his life.

Because she made him feel things that he'd never felt before.

She was just so amusing.

She made him blush and even got him to flirt which he never thought he would ever do.

They have been friends for only a few weeks yet he feels as if he's closer to her than his childhood friends, maybe even closer than Kira. He can't describe or label what this relationship is, all he knows is that he wants to be closer, more than what they are now. He wants to be able to hug her the way he did last night whenever he wanted.

'_Would that make us a couple_?' Athrun mused from his favorite spot under the tree.

_Couples do more than just hug, they kiss..._

He can't help but blush a little at the thought.

'_Where is that girl anyway?'_

Athrun pondered as he looked around for the missing blonde. It's already almost time for class to start and they always meet at this spot so they can go to class together.

Athrun takes out his cellphone and texts Cagalli.

[where r you?]

It didn't take long for her to reply.

[already in class]

Athrun felt a little bothered. '_She went to class first and didn't even think to inform me…Oh well, I better go before I'm late._'

When he got to class, Cagalli was just sitting at her desk, staring out the window. She had a look on her face that Athrun didn't quite like, she seemed troubled.

Thinking that it might just be a cranky morning for her, he decided to cheer her up.

He quietly crept up behind her without notice and poked her sides with his index fingers.

Cagalli let out a surprised "_EEP!_" and almost look like she was about to smack his arm like she usually does but for some reason she stopped herself and just gave a half-hearted shrug before look out the window again.

Now Athrun was really worried.

"Morning Cags."

Cagalli blinked a few times before replying. "Morning Athrun." She smiled a smile that didn't reach her eyes.

Athrun scratched the back of his neck in confusion before taking his seat next to her.

When class was in session, Athrun noticed that Cagalli didn't really pay any attention to Ms. Ramius and was just staring into space.

Athrun couldn't take her weird behavior anymore so he decided to confront her through a text.

[ whats wrong Cagalli? You've been acting really weird this morning]

He heard her phone vibrate and watched as she snapped to her senses before discreetly fishing through her bag for her phone. She glances at the senders name before raising a brow and turning to look at Athrun who pretended to take notes, he felt her questioning stare but didn't look up.

He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket.

[ nothing... I just feel a little tired from all that homework yesterday.]

Athrun furrowed his brows. '_That can't be, she wouldn't be this gloomy just from homework_.' He shook his head and sent her another message.

[I don't believe you, we will talk about this during lunch]

His phone vibrated again.

[cant. I'm going to the library today for research so I'm not eating with you and the gang]

[fine then I'll eat with you at the library]

His lips quirked up at her disbelieving stare and gave her a wink.

Just then the bell rang and before Athrun could say a word, Cagalli quickly shot out of her seat and rushed out of the classroom.

"Cagalli wait!" He shouted and followed after her, garnering a few curious stares.

Meer who was observing the couple the whole time smirked. '_Looks like whatever Meyrin did, it made the blonde bitch back off. I gotta say I'm quite impressed_.' she laughed in her head.

Meanwhile Kira and Lacus were confused about the way Athrun and Cagalli acted. Usually they would joke around with each other but today, they barely said a few words.

'_Hmm did something happen at the group study last night_?' Lacus wondered.

Athrun was about to catch up to Cagalli when he was suddenly stopped by Meyrin who latched onto his arms as soon as she saw him.

"Hi Athrun dear!"

"Uh excuse me Meyrin, but can you let go? I'm kind of in a hurry here." He was beginning to feel frustrated.

"What for?" Meyrin pouted.

"Cagalli's been acting weird and I need to talk to her."

"Aw don't worry, I'm sure she's just tired from last night." Meyrin feigned worry, inwardly she was jumping with joy at how her plan worked. '_Cagalli is avoiding Athrun and soon they will no longer be friends, now if only Athrun would stop worrying about that bitch_!'

Athrun knew that wasn't the case but he see no point in convincing her otherwise so he just sighed and let her drag him to class. He figured that he can just talk to Cagalli about it during lunch.

Second period was no different, Cagalli was unusually cold and quiet and Athrun wanted to just grab her and shake some sense into her! And Meyrin was being extra extra clingy for some reason.

Finally the bell rang and he released a breath that he didn't know he was holding.

He looked towards Cagalli's seat and noticed that she was already gone.

'_Crap, when did she get so fast_?'

He gathered his things and began heading to the library when Meyrin latched onto his arms again.

"Where are you going Athrun? It's lunch time!" Athrun had to refrain himself from rolling his eyes in annoyance.

"Oh right. I won't be eating with you guys today, I have to do some research at the library." He quickly fibbed.

"Aw really? Why don't I help you then? I'm really good with research you know?" Meyrin insisted.

"Sorry but teacher said we cannot receive help but thanks for the offer."

"But-!"

"Gotta go!" Athrun cut in before running towards the direction of the library.

'_Damn! Don't tell me he's going to go and find that bitch! She most likely won't be eating with the group today.'_ Meyrin fumed. She decided that she would follow Athrun to make sure that Cagalli stays away.

"Meyrin what are you doing just standing there? Let's go eat already!" It was Luna.

Meyrin groaned, she can't tell Luna about her blackmailing Cagalli so she decided to just follow her sister to not risk suspicion. Besides, '_that bitch should be smart enough to not talk to Athrun if she doesn't want her secret revealed.'_

Oooooooo

Athrun made it to the library and went inside to look for Cagalli. But she wasn't inside.

'_Didn't she say that she needed to do research_?' Athrun ruffled his hair in frustration.

'_Why is she avoiding me?'_

He took a deep breath before walking out of the library, now even more determined to confront her. He checked almost everywhere in the school but there was no signs of Cagalli. He avoided the cafeteria in case his friends were still there, and he knew that Cagalli wouldn't be there.

He was now outside in the school yard catching his breath. Thinking that she might have gone home, he grew depressed so he decided to go to his favorite spot for a nap. However as he neared the tree, he saw her. She had her knees up to her chest and her head was resting on it. He slowly towards her.

Oooooooo

3 months ago in Orb.

Cagalli was strolling through her garden looking for her cat when a maid approached her saying that her father wanted to talk about something important with her. When she arrived in his study, he had a very serious look on his face, she knew it was really important from the serious tone and expression, but what could it be?

"Cagalli, are you aware of the tradition of Orb regarding a princess?"

"No father, you've never mentioned it." She replied in a nervous tone.

Uzumi Nara Athha sighed.

"When a princess of Orb turns 18, she will be introduced to the country along with a...Groom to be."

Cagalli stared at her father in confusion until the information finally sank in and her expression turned to one of disbelief.

"What? Are you saying that I will be engaged when I turn 18?"

"I'm sorry Cagalli, but it's been Orbs tradition for centuries, you have no choice."

Cagalli glared at her father with tears in her eyes.

"But I don't want to be Orb's princess! I don't want to be engaged to someone I don't even know!"

Now it's Uzumi's turn to get angry.

"You have no choice Cagalli! You are Orb's princess no matter what! You can't just choose if you want to or not and stop being so damn stubborn!"

"No! Please father I barely got to experience how it like to be a normal person being trapped in this place for as long as I can remember! You never let me do anything I wanted and you never gave me a choice!" She sobbed.

"That's because I'm protecting you! Who knows what'll happen if I let you run free? What if you get kidnapped?"

"But I'm 17 now! I'm not a kid anymore! Father please, if you let me live outside of Orb until I turn 18, I will fulfill the tradition without complaints!"

"Absolutely not! Have you gone mad? You want to leave Orb and live somewhere else until you turn 18? That's unacceptable. Plus you will follow tradition whether you like it or not!"

"But father please!"

"That's enough Cagalli, I will not discuss this any longer. You will not leave Orb and you will follow tradition."

All Cagalli could do was stare at her father in disbelief, how could he do this to her?

"I hate you!" Cagalli sobbed before running out of the study.

Uzumi could only sigh and rub his face with his hands, he knows that Cagalli is mad at him right now, but she will understand soon.

But one month later, she was gone. Without a trace.

Ooooooooo

When she woke up this morning, Cagalli felt as if she hadn't slept a wink the night before. She'd been awake for most of the night thinking about what Meyrin told her. She knew that if she wanted to keep her secret, she would have to stop talking to Athrun and avoid him.

Just the thought of doing that puts a tight feeling in her chest.

She almost went to meet Athrun this morning under their tree because she's so used to it. However, Meyrin's words rang in her head so she went straight to class instead.

She knew he would be confused with her behavior and question her about it.

When lunch time came around, she decided to hide under their tree even though she told Athrun that she's doing research in the library. Why she picked this spot she didn't know since Athrun would easily find her here if he were to look for her...Okay maybe she's hoping that there's a tiny chance that Athrun would look for her and find her here.

However it would seem that he didn't bother to since it's been 20 minutes since the lunch bell rang.

She shouldn't even feel sad; after all she was the one avoiding him.

But she can't help it; it hurt to know that she can't talk to him like she use to. When she saw him walk into second period with Meyrin clinging onto his arms, she felt hurt. And the smug look that Meyrin gave her only intensified the tightness within her chest.

'_Is this what it feels like to like someone? Why do I only realize it when I'm hurting_?' Cagalli thought bitterly, wrapping her arms around herself before resting her forehead on her knees.

She was about to drift off when she heard footsteps walking closer to her.

'_That's odd; no one comes to this tree except me and Athrun_.' Cagalli thought, head still down.

She heard the footsteps get closer until she can feel that there was someone right in front of her. She figured that it wasn't anyone she knew so she just pretended to sleep and hope that whoever it was would just leave. However the person isn't budging, he/she wasn't even saying a word so Cagalli got a little annoyed.

'_What's with this person_?'

She raised her head preparing to scold the rude person and gasped as she came face to face with Athrun Zala.

He was crouched down to her level and his face was so close that their noses where only 2 inches away from touching.

Cagalli could only blush under his stare.

"What happened to doing research at the library?" Came Athrun voice, Cagalli shivered at how cold it sounded.

"I just finished?"

"Stop lying Cagalli. I went straight to the library when lunch started." Athrun was serious.

Cagalli sighed. "Why are you here Athrun? Shouldn't you be eating lunch?"

"I could ask you the same thing, tell me Cagalli, is there a reason why you're avoiding me?" There was tension in his voice.

Cagalli looked away. "What makes you think I'm avoiding you?"

Athrun narrowed his eyes. "Stop, don't play dumb with me."

He reached out and took her chin in between his thumb and index before guiding her head to face him. "I know there's something bothering you Cagalli." He then continued in a softer tone. "Please don't avoid me, talk to me Cagalli."

Cagalli felt a lump forming in her throat and her eyes were starting to burn. "I can't Athrun." She refused to look him in the eye.

Athrun's patience was running out, he doesn't know why but he just can't seem to keep his composure when he's with this woman, but he does know that it felt good to be near her. But now she's avoiding him and he desperately wanted to know why.

"Why? There must be a reas…" Athrun noticed a small tear escape her eyes and he stopped mid sentence in shock. Instantly he had her in his arms.

Cagalli's eyes were wide with surprise as she sniffed a muffled sob against his neck.

"Please tell me what's wrong Cagalli. We're friend aren't we?" Athrun asked softly but desperately, tightening his arms around her

"I wish I could tell you Athrun...but I can't." She replied in a soft voice.

Athrun suddenly pulled away and cupped her face in between his palms. "Why are you being like this Cagalli? Whatever it is, you can tell me no matter what, you can trust me!" He almost yelled as he stared intensely into her eyes.

"I care about you Cagalli." Then in a softer voice he said. "Don't you care about me too?" Athrun felt a lump form in his throat and a burning sensation in his eyes. He almost never cry, not even when he was young, yet he feels like the most miserable person as he stare into Cagalli's teary and glassy amber eyes.

"Of course I do Athrun! how can you-!" Cagalli let out a gasp when Athrun's lips suddenly came crashing down on her open mouth. Her eyes were wide open as they stared at Athrun's closed ones. She was frozen, Athrun was kissing her! When she finally got over her shock, she didn't hesitate in returning his kiss as her eyelids drifted shut. It was a passionate and desperate kiss as Athrun and Cagalli poured their emotions into it.

Athrun didn't know what took over him when he closed the gap between him and Cagalli and kissed her. His body just acted on impulse when he heard that Cagalli cared about him. He knew he took her by surprise judging by her stiff posture and frozen lips. She remained that way for a few more seconds and he feared that he might have done something she didn't want. When he was just about to pull away and apologize, he felt her responding to his kiss; he let out a sigh as he ran his tongue over her bottom lip.

He gave her bottom lip a final nibble before pulling away slowly. He grinned as he took in Cagalli's dazed expression and flushed cheeks. They were both panting slightly and he blushed when he realized that he just had a mind blowing first kiss with the only girl he ever felt romantically about.

Only when her heart finally calmed down and her cheeks no longer looking like a ripe tomato did Cagalli finally have the courage to look at Athrun. She tries to bite her lip to stop herself but inevitably gave in to the urge to burst out with laughter at his flushed appearance and dorky smile.

To say he was confused was an understatement. Athrun stared at the hysterical girl who had just ruined their after-kiss glow. But he can't help but smile and indulge in her first sincere laughter of the day. He fought the urge to pull her into his arms and kiss her again.

After Cagalli regained her composure, Athrun reached over and tuck a loose strand of blonde hair behind her ear.

"So are you going to tell me what's bothering you now?" He looked worried but there was a solemn edge to his voice.

As expected, Cagalli looked down and avoided meeting his eyes. "It's nothing really Athrun, you don't have to worry about such a small matter."

She cringed as he let out an impatient sigh.

"You know you are technically my girlfriend now right?" The corners of his lips twitched as Cagalli's head snapped up at the speed of light. Her mouth in a disbelieving O shape, eyes wide, and cheeks red as an apple.

"W-w-w-what..Huh?" She blushed harder as she stuttered.

"Don't look so surprised, do I have to kiss you again to prove it?" He leaned closer, her face turned redder.

"Shouldn't you have to ask me to be your girlfriend first?" Cagalli had to mentally slap away her foolishly stuttering self.

Athrun smiled indulgently. "Cagalli Yula, would you like to be my girlfriend?"

"You know your fangirls are going to swallow me whole right?" She rolled her eyes.

"I'm sure you can handle them, plus I'll protect you if you couldn't." Athrun smirked.

Cagalli was having an internal battle. She knew she wanted to be with Athrun but Meyrin's threat wasn't something she can ignore. If she wanted to be with him, she would have to tell him everything. Who she really was and why she was here. Their relationship would have to be a secret because she was being blackmailed. She swallowed hard. _I want to be with him, I need to tell him. I hope he'll understand why I hid my identity._

"Before I say yes, I have something I need to tell you Athrun."

Athrun straightened at her serious tone and nodded for her to continue.

Cagalli took a deep breath. "Cagalli Yula is not my full name, its Cagalli Yula Athha. I am from Orb but that's not all, I'm actually the princess of Orb. I came to PLANT because my father was going to engage me to someone I don't even know when I turn 18 and I just couldn't let that happen because I've been locked in that mansion ever since I was born and I've never gotten to see how to world is. So I escaped and came here to experience life outside Orb and I just love it so much that I don't want to go back. But yesterday…yesterday Meyrin told me that she knew who I really am. I don't know how, but she found out that I was the princess of Orb and she told me that she would tell my father if I don't stop talking to you…I didn't want to go back to Orb so I decided that I had to stop talking to you, I'm sorry for avoiding you in the morning Athrun…I had no choice."

She was looking down the whole time she was confessing her secrets, she was afraid of what Athrun's reaction might be.

Athrun sat frozen as her words sank in. He swallowed to ease his suddenly dry throat.

"So let me get this straight, you are actually the princess of Orb?" He stared at her in disbelief, he didn't even know that Orb had a princess.

Cagalli nodded.

"And you ran away because you didn't want to get engaged when you turn 18?"

Another nod.

"And Meyrin is blackmailing you?" Athrun couldn't help but feel pissed off. He never thought that his friend would do something like this.

"Yes, I think she's in love with you Athrun…I mean it's pretty obvious."

Athrun always had a feeling that Meyrin saw him as more than just a friend and it became a lot more apparent after he met Cagalli. He had tried to convey that he didn't see her as anything more than a friend but Meyrin obviously couldn't take a hint. When she asked him to go to the movies, he knew she wanted to go alone with him, so when he suggested the idea to the gang, he thought she would understand that he didn't like her that way. Turns out it just made her more aggressive about her feelings.

"I know…I just never thought she would do something like this Cagalli. I guess it's partly my fault. So…does that mean that you'll go with her demands? You're just going to avoid me from now on?"

She winced at the hurt and underlying anger in his voice, but shook her head and smiled shyly.

"Well actually…I want to be your girlfriend Athrun. I was thinking that maybe we can just keep it a secret for now?" She was blushing again.

Athrun instantly brightened up as a grin broke out on his face. "Really? Are you sure?" He sounded so hopeful and Cagalli couldn't help but laugh.

"YES you idiot!"

He instantly cocooned her in his arms and nuzzled her neck in happiness.

"So what should we do now _girlfriend_?"

"Well I am kind of hungry…"

"Actually I was thinking that we should continue our kiss earlier…"

Cagalli blushed. "I never thought Athrun Zala was such a perv!"

"Hey it's your fault, I'm not usually like this…" He replied before gluing his lips to hers.

* * *

Yes. Athrun can only be a perv when he's with Cagalli. I'm really sorry if everyone is kind of OOC...I am an amateur after all.


End file.
